The Amber Ranger Saga
by Cynthia and Emerald J
Summary: Old friends of the Rangers return to Angel Grove, and things go spinning off in a very unusual direction.
1. Released Amber

**Author's Note and Disclaimer**

  
  
Welcome to our Amber Ranger series. If you're new, please be advised that this series was written many years ago and is in no way representative of our current style of writing. (In other words, we've gotten better at writing, at least we think we have.) You should also know that it features original characters pretty heavily, but the regular canonical ones are there as well. The Amber Ranger storyline itself is nearly finished and future updates will be posted here. If you should choose to read, please enjoy. 

**Disclaimer:** We do not own any of the characters in here who were ever, in any way, represented on **Mighty Morphin Power Rangers** or any of it's subsequent incarnations. We make no money off of this and wouldn't take it if it were offered.

Cynthia & Emerald J  
  
  


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**Released Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

"Hey, is the pizza here yet, Billy?" was not quite the usual battle cry used by the six teenagers who sprawled all over Billy Cranston's living room. But it suited their mood, which for once wasn't warfare, but relaxation. 

"Not yet, Aisha," the Blue Ranger told her. "It'll be about another twenty minutes, I believe." 

Friday night had rolled around again, and all six Rangers were having a sleepover at Billy's house, since his parents were away for the weekend. Aisha and Kat were absorbed in the latest editions of a couple of fashion magazines, Tommy and Adam were sparring playfully in a corner, and Rocky was-- 

"Rocky!" at Billy's surprised voice, the Red Ranger jerked his head out of the photo album he'd been perusing. 

"Oh, I knew I shouldn't have went poking around in your stuff!" Rocky moaned. "I'm sorry, Billy, I'll put it back." 

"It's all right," Billy grinned. "Let me see what you've got there." 

Billy sat beside Rocky and joined him in looking at the photos. Rocky recognized some of the people in the photos as the former Rangers, Jason, Zack, Trini, and Kim. As he turned the pages, the pictures showed younger and younger versions of them all, and of Billy himself. 

"Who's this?" Kat had wandered over and now peered over Rocky's shoulder. The picture she was looking at was of two little girls, no more than ten at the most, playing with a ten-year-old Billy. 

Billy smiled gently. "Aura and Azure Robinson. They lived next door to me until Aura and I were about ten. Then their family moved to New York, and I haven't seen them since." 

He turned to another page in the photo album, to show a group photo. Zack, Trini, Jason, Kim, Billy, Aura, and Azure all stood together around a birthday cake. Aura was closest to it, blowing out the candles. "That was Aura's tenth birthday. The seven of us were all close friends. It's a fairly safe bet if Aura had been with us that day were chosen as Rangers, she would've been picked too. She has a great heart, and always liked helping people." 

"Did you two keep in touch?" Adam wondered. Billy nodded, and went to his room for a minute. When he came back, he held two pictures, one framed, the other loose. 

"This is Azure now," he passed around the unframed photo. When it reached Adam, his mouth literally dropped open. 

"Woah!! She's beautiful! I wish I could meet her," the Black Ranger stared at the photo. 

"What's that picture, Billy?" Tommy looked over at Billy, who was looking at the one he still held onto. Billy looked up at them. 

"This is Aura," he told them, turning the picture around. It showed a teenage girl, with long dark hair, clear gray eyes, and a gentle, caring expression on her face. The Rangers expected him to pass that one around as well, but he kept holding it, and in fact turned it back so he could look at it. 

"Was she your girlfriend, Billy?" Rocky couldn't help teasing him. Billy shook his head. 

"We were ten the last time we saw each other," Billy sighed. "I really miss her." 

Just then, their communicators beeped. "Oh, man," Tommy groaned. "Doesn't Zedd know when to quit?" 

The Power Rangers went into action. * * * 

On the other side of the country, at that same moment, Aura and Azure Robinson headed home, having no idea they were the subject of an old friend's thoughts. Aura hummed happily as they walked along. 

"What are you humming?" Azure asked. 

"Nothing much," Aura grinned. "Just humming. I'm happy, that's all." 

"Got another A on a test?" Azure wondered. 

"Not just that," Aura pulled an envelope out of her purse. "Got this from Billy the other day." 

Azure snatched it away, but didn't take the letter out. "How is the Billmeister?" 

"Fine, as always," Azure giggled at the dreamy sound to Aura's voice. 

"Man, I wish I could find a friend like him!" Azure smiled. 

"Maybe you will, someday," Aura hoped. "He sent a picture of himself and his friends. Want to see it?" 

"The whole old gang?" 

"Nah, everyone else has moved. He's got some cool new friends, though," Aura showed her the picture. 

"Where'd Kim go? I know the others went to Switzerland," Azure's eyes landed on one Korean-looking guy. "Woah, he's cute!" 

"She moved to Florida; she's training for the Pan-Globals," Aura told her. "I got a letter from her myself the other day; meant to mention it to you." 

"So who's the guy all in black?" Azure was still staring at the picture as they walked up to their apartment home. Aura checked out the letter. 

"Adam Park. Billy says he studies kung-fu," Aura opened the apartment door onto complete chaos. Their mom stopped and looked at them. 

"Girls, get your things together as fast as you can. We're moving." 

"What? Where to?" 

"Angel Grove." 

Aura's gray eyes widened. "Really?" 

"Yes!" Azure crowed in triumph. "Home sweet home!" 

Aura beat Azure to their shared room by less than a second. "I'm going to see Billy again!" 

"Are we going to live in a house this time, or another apartment?" Azure asked with distaste. 

"We're getting our old house back," their mom told them. 

"_Yes!_" Aura cheered. Azure started to pack hurriedly. "Man, I hope I get Mrs. Applebee for homeroom!" 

"Oh, Azure, I'm going to see him again!" Aura giggled happily. "I hope I get whoever _Billy_ has for homeroom!" 

Azure pulled her suitcase out of the closet. "Good-bye, subway! Hello, clean air!" 

Aura's movements were almost too fast to see as she packed. "I'm gonna see Billy!" 

"We understand that, Aura!" Azure giggled. Aura snatched up a recent picture she had of Billy next to her bed and kissed it heartily. 

"Oh, Azure, I love him so much. But he still thinks of us as just friends." 

Azure continued to pack. "Maybe he does. Maybe he doesn't." 

"I dunno," Aura shrugged. "We'll find out when we get home." 

"Our old bedrooms!" 

"Right next door to Billy!" Azure rolled her eyes at her sister's single-mindedness. 

"You heard Mom and Dad. We've got to get packed fast!" 

Aura started packing again. "OK, OK!" Suddenly she stopped and sat, holding her head, her face creased with pain. Azure looked at her, concerned. "Another one?" 

Aura nodded. "I _hate_ these headaches." 

"You rest. I'll pack up some of your stuff," Azure started to put Aura's things into her bags. Aura got to her feet and headed out the door. 

"I'm going to go lay down in the darkroom; I hope mom and dad haven't packed it up yet," Aura sighed. Her headaches sometimes became so bad, she had a special small, darkened room where she could wait one of them out. As she started out the door, their mom poked her head in. 

"We're catching a flight first thing tomorrow, Angel Grove High already knows you're on the way." she looked at her oldest daughter. "Aura? Another headache?" 

Aura nodded. "Is my darkroom still there?" 

Her mother nodded. "We're going to wait til last to pack that up if you're having another headache." 

"Thanks," Aura made her way to the room and sat down on the small cot there. She had another picture of Billy in here, and looked at it, smiling softly. 

"Angel Grove," she sighed in joy. "I'm coming home, Billy." * * * 

The next morning dawned clear and beautiful in Angel Grove, but in Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa's Lunar Palace, it was as dark and gloomy as ever. Zedd looked out over the Earth. "What a perfect morning to destroy the Rangers!" 

"Every morning is perfect for that!" Rita proclaimed. A moment later, she muttered, "But we never seem to do that!" 

"I have a perfect idea! We shall steal the spirits from them, with the Spirit Killer!" 

"The Spirit Killer!" Rita echoed. "You're a genius, Zeddy! 

"It's perfect!" Zedd bellowed. "Arise, Spirit Killer, and rip their souls from them!" 

Spirit Killer, a four-armed demonic like being, appeared in the throne room and bowed low. "Yes, Lord Zedd!" 

"Go!" Zedd ordered. Spirit Killer vanished. "This plan cannot fail!" * * * 

Adam threw Billy over his shoulder one more time. As he got back to his feet, Adam held up his hand to indicate the practice was over. "Great workout!" 

Billy nodded. "Except you're losing concentration again!" Billy sighed and shrugged. 

"I can't help it. I can't stop thinking about Aura today. I don't know why." 

Adam shrugged in his own turn. "Who knows? Come on, let's go meet up with the others in the park." 

Billy nodded, and just as they were out of sight of the Youth Center, where they'd been sparring, a monster leaped out of thin air at them. "Rangers!" It hissed. "I am Spirit Killer, come to destroy your souls!" 

"Oh, great!" Adam groaned. 

"Don't the bad guys ever take a weekend off?" Billy wondered as he jumped out of the way. 

"Never!" Spirit Killer roared, charging towards them. 

Adam leaped out of the way and yelled into his communicator, "Guys, we need help!" He looked over at Billy. "It's morphin' time!" 

"Blue Ranger Power!" 

"Black Ranger Power!" 

The battle began, with the other Rangers showing up only moments later, already morphed and ready for combat. As Rocky ran into the fight, he wondered, "Man, don't Rita and Zedd ever just sit around on the weekends watching old movies or something?" 

"Guess not!" Aisha replied as she charged the creature with Kat by her side. The monster grabbed Kat and began to squeeze her with two of it's four arms. 

"Kat!" Tommy ran to help the Pink Ranger, only to be thrown to one side along with her. Kat rolled to her feet and called out, "Power Bow!" Her arrow didn't even make it to the Spirit Killer, though, as the creature snapped it in half in midair. 

"Sorry, Pink Ranger, no luck at target practice today!" 

As Spirit Killer leaped towards Kat, Billy interfered, his Power Lance already in his hands. "Hey!" He thrust at the creature. "Leave my friends alone!" 

Spirit Killer growled and knocked the Lance to one side. "I guess _you_ want to die then!" It grabbed him in all four arms and began to squeeze. "Time to die, Blue Ranger!" 

Billy screamed in pain as his ribs began to crack under the tremendous pressure the Spirit Killer exerted. He heard Adam calling his name, and out of the corner of his eye saw the other Rangers fighting Tengas that had appeared. There was no one to help him. . . 

"Not today, creature of evil!" hands landed on his shoulders and jerked him away from Spirit Killer, breaking the creature's grip. The voice was toneless, almost lifeless, and it was the sweetest thing Billy had ever heard in his life, since the owner had just saved that life. 

"What the heck!" it was Rocky. Billy looked up to see a light brown helmeted head looking back at him. 

"Another Ranger?" he whispered weakly. He didn't recognize this Ranger. A light brown uniform covered whoever it was, with a shield like Tommy's covering the chest. Where Tommy's shield sported the emblem of the falcon, this Ranger's shield was blank, however. The Ranger nodded. 

"Remain apart from this fight, Billy. You are too weak." 

Billy nodded; wondering vaguely how this strange Ranger knew who he was. "You'll get no argument from me!" he leaned against a tree, keeping an eye out for any more trouble. 

The new Ranger turned to the others. "This creature must be defeated!" Tommy nodded. 

"I don't know who you are, but let's do it!" The Rangers, with their new ally, turned to Spirit Killer almost as one. The creature, realizing it was both outnumbered and outclassed, vanished, saying, "Another time, Rangers! When your new friend is not here to help you!" 

Tommy glanced at the new arrival. "Thank you, whoever you are." 

"I am the Amber Ranger," the mystery warrior replied. "and I will help whenever I am needed. Farewell, Rangers," The Ranger dissolved into amber mist, which blew away into nothingness moments later. 

"Man!" Tommy exclaimed in surprise and awe. He then joined the others over at Billy, who was making his way to his feet. 

Adam asked, "You okay?" 

Billy nodded weakly. "Who was that?" 

"Amber Ranger," Tommy said. "I think that was the name given to us." 

"They came in and out of mist," Kat supplied. "Weird. I've never heard of an Amber Ranger before. Have you guys?" 

One and all, heads were shaken in denial. "Come on," Adam helped Billy to stand. "Let's get you to the Command Center; maybe Zordon had some answers for us!" 

"I hope so," Billy sighed. "And I hope that monster never comes back!" * * * 

"You have failed me, Spirit Killer!" Zedd roared as the monster cowered before him. 

"It wasn't my fault, Lord Zedd, the Amber Ranger stopped me!" 

"Amber Ranger? That isn't possible!" Zedd actually got louder as his rage grew. 

"Why's that? And who is the Amber Ranger. I've never heard of them before," Rita wondered. 

"Fifty thousand years ago, more or less," Zedd explained, "the Amber Ranger fought against me on one of my earliest attempts to take over a world. He failed miserably, I might add, and I took over his planet. His last words, before I blasted him into dust, were that he would come back again, somehow. Typical goody-two-shoes talk. I haven't heard of an Amber Ranger, until now, since then." 

Rita growled, "Obviously you screwed up somewhere, Zedd, because the Amber Ranger's still around!" 

"I did not screw up!" Zedd raged, the room flaring red around him. 

Rita retorted, "That Amber Ranger is proof _something_ went wrong!" 

"But what?" Zedd stared angrily at the Earth. 

"That's what we'll find out." * * * 

Adam eased Billy onto the couch Alpha had materialized in the Command Center. "Zordon," he asked, "Who was that Amber Ranger?" 

WHY DO YOU ASK, ADAM? 

"Whoever it was, just saved Billy's life!" 

THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE. THE AMBER RANGER LINE IS EXTINCT. THE LAST OF THEM DIED FIFTY THOUSAND YEARS AGO. 

"Sure looked good for a dead Ranger!" Tommy stated. 

THE AMBER RANGER LINE DEFENDED THE PLANET KALAKAN FOR MANY THOUSANDS OF YEARS. THE LAST OF THEM, NERAS, PERISHED AS HE DROVE LORD ZEDD AWAY FROM KALAKAN. HIS WIFE, SELANIA, DIED BEFORE HER CHILD, THE HEIR TO THE AMBER POWERS, WAS BORN. 

"Couldn't someone else have taken the powers?" Aisha wondered. 

NO, AISHA. UNLIKE YOUR POWERS, WHICH CAN BE PASSED TO WHOMSOEVER NEEDS THEM, THE AMBER POWERS MUST BE PASSED FROM ONE GENERATION TO THE NEXT. ONLY THE LINE OF ALANTRIUS, NERAS' FAMILY LINE, COULD EVER HOLD THE AMBER RANGER POWERS. NERAS' LINE BECAME EXTINCT WHEN HE DIED. 

"Well, who or what did we see out there today?" Adam wondered. "That wasn't some ghost who saved Billy!" 

He glanced over at Billy, who was being tended by Alpha. The Blue Ranger looked a little better, but not much. 

I DO NOT KNOW, RANGERS. BUT WE MUST FIND OUT IF WE CAN. 

Tommy nodded. "Before Rita and Zedd find out who Amber Ranger is." * * * Azure glanced around the lunchroom. Her first day back in the Angel Grove school system, and already things were off to a rough start. She hadn't recognized anyone; though she _knew_ she had to have been to elementary school with some of these people. She'd managed to get Mrs. Applebee for homeroom, though, and the kindly teacher had remembered her well. 

"Man," she muttered under her breath. She spotted an empty seat, next to a group of five young people, three boys and two girls. They looked a trifle familiar; she wondered if maybe she'd known them before moving away; seven years could make a lot of difference in how a person looked. She wandered casually over. "Um, is anyone sitting here?" 

A blonde, dressed in a pink blouse and jeans, glanced up as she spoke. "No, go ahead." 

"Thanks," Azure sat down and looked around; that nagging familiarity just wouldn't leave her alone. 

The guy she'd sat next looked at her. "Hi," he nodded. He was probably Korean, dressed in black, and extremely handsome. One of the others glanced at her. 

"You're new here, aren't you?" he asked. 

"Kind of," Azure hoped to make some friends at least; even if she didn't already know these people from years earlier. 

"Hey," the guy she sat next was looking at her. "You look a little familiar." 

"I could say the same about you," Azure said, staring at him. The boy looked back at her, his brow furrowed. Suddenly, his face cleared. 

"Azure?" 

"Adam?" her memory supplied the name to go with the face suddenly. The other boy, dressed in white, looked at them both. 

"You two know each other?" he asked. The second boy, who wore a red shirt and jeans, looked shocked. 

"Not really," Adam shook his head. "You remember, guys, Billy showed us her picture Friday night at his house." 

The second girl nodded. "I remember: Azure Robinson, right?" 

Azure nodded. "My sister showed me a picture of you guys the other day." 

"Your sister," Adam thought quickly. "Aura?" 

"Yeah," Azure nodded. "I think she's got English this period." 

"Woah," Adam grinned. "Billy's going to be glad to see her." 

Azure frowned a little. "I'm amazed he hasn't seen her yet. We moved back next door to him." 

The first girl nodded. "Well, he's been a little under the weather." 

Azure raised an eyebrow in shock. "Billy? Sick? That's a first." 

Adam glanced at the others. "Yeah, we weren't sure if he should come to school today or not." 

The first girl smiled at her. "By the way, I'm Kat Hilliard." 

"Tommy Oliver," the boy in white. 

"Rocky DeSantos," the red-clad young man told his name. 

"Aisha Campbell," the other girl. 

"Adam Park," Adam formally introduced himself. 

"Azure Robinson," Azure smiled at them all. "So, what's new in Angel Grove?" 

Adam shrugged. "Nothing much. Just the occasional monster attack." 

"Great," Azure grinned a little. "Place hardly changes, but when it does, it does it in a _big_ way." 

Rocky smiled. "You don't have to worry, Azure. The Power Rangers take care of the monsters!" 

Azure giggled. "I won't worry!" 

"So, you lived in New York?" that was from Adam. 

"Yes, barely," Azure sighed; it was better than she'd ever thought to get away from that city. 

"What was it like there?" 

"Smelly, noisy, full of activity. I guess you could say it was okay," Azure sighed in relief as something else occurred to her. "Just thankful I don't have to take the subway to school anymore!" 

Adam grinned. "Sounds like you're glad to be back. 

"I am!" Azure declared. "Anyone know any place to that teaches karate around here?" 

Tommy nodded. "I teach at the Youth Center; so does Adam." 

Adam flushed a trifle. "Yeah; maybe we could get together later today and spar; see how much you know." 

Kat leaned over to Aisha and whispered in her ear, "Looks like Adam's lovestruck! 

Aisha nodded, whispering back, "Cupid strikes again!" * * * 

"Hey, Billy!" Adam waved to his friend as they met on the way home. "What's up?" 

"Not much," the teenage genius replied. "What about you?" 

"Man, you won't believe what happened at lunch today!" 

"What is it?" 

Adam was about to tell of meeting Azure, when out of nowhere appeared the Spirit Killer, along with a group of Tengas. "Man! Not now! It's morphin' time!" Luckily no one was around for this. "Black Ranger Power!" 

"Blue Ranger Power!" 

The two Rangers were forced to deal with both monster and Tengas, and the fight was not going well for either of them. Both Adam and Billy managed to avoid the Spirit Killer's grip, however, and were most relieved to have the other Rangers appear after only a few minutes in the fight. 

However, that was where the Rangers' luck at avoiding the monster ended, as Kat was seized by the evil creature. "Let. . me. .. go. . .," the Pink Ranger cried, her voice growing weaker with each word. 

Tommy tried to fight his way to Kat, only to be blocked by three Tengas. He screamed her name, then stopped as he noticed a familiar amber mist forming directly behind the monster. Amber Ranger solidified, and in that same moment, pulled Kat away from Spirit Killer, kicking the creature in the stomach and away from the Rangers. 

"Amber Ranger!" Adam called out. "Good timing, again!" 

"I am always here when I am needed, Adam!" the strange Ranger replied. Adam was puzzled as to how the Ranger knew his true name, but didn't have time to consider it, as four Tengas leaped on him at once. The Amber Ranger pulled out a large, wicked-looking axe, and called out, "Come, Rangers, join in the fun of battle!" 

"Fun?" Rocky exchanged helmeted glances with Tommy. "I think we need to have a talk with A.R. later!" 

"A.R.?" Tommy asked as he threw another Tenga into a tree. 

"Amber Ranger, A.R., whatever!" the Red Ranger grinned a little. 

"Power Ax!" Adam called his weapon after dealing with the Tengas and leaped towards the Spirit Killer, which was already doing battle with Amber Ranger. The Tengas had fled by now, and as the monster faced against seven armed and angry Rangers, it backed away. 

"I _will_ win in the end, Power Rangers!" it declared before vanishing. "And I _will_ be back!" 

"And we will be ready, Spirit Killer!" Amber Ranger declared. The warrior turned to the other Rangers, and raised the axe in salute. "Once again, an honor to fight by your sides, Rangers!" 

"The same goes for us, A.R.," Tommy returned the salute with Saba. Amber Ranger dissolved once again into amber mist. Kat sighed. 

"That is one _strange_ Ranger," she mused. 

"You can say that again!" Adam shook his head. * * * 

Zedd once more was roaring in outrage. "Why is it I get all the nincompoops working for me!?!?!" 

Rito laughed harshly. "Hey, that's no way to talk about Goldie!!" 

"Oh, I think I'm getting one of Rita's headaches!" Zedd complained. Rita shook her head in disgust. 

"Zedd, what are you going to do about that Amber Ranger?" 

"I am not sure yet!" Zedd gazed angrily at the Earth; he had been sure he'd destroyed the Ranger of Kalakan thousands of years before; how had they survived? Was this even them? 

"Well, it had better be good! Whoever they are, they're getting on my nerves!" 

_And you're getting on mine! _Zedd moaned to himself. Rito chuckled in his normal annoying style. 

"Hey, may be we could try to find out who the Amber Ranger is!" 

Zedd threw up his hands in disgust; was this the quality of help he got these days?! "Gee, why didn't I think of that?" * * * 

"Come on!" Adam urged Billy on to the Youth Center; he hoped to see Azure there. He hadn't had the chance yet to tell Billy about his meeting with her. 

Billy's thoughts were distant. "I wonder who the Amber Ranger is," he muttered as he walked with Adam. 

"I'm sure they'll reveal it to us, when the time is right. Although it _is_ kind of nerve-racking not knowing if A.R. is a guy or a girl!" 

"Yeah," Billy's thoughts turned from the Amber Ranger to Aura as they entered the Youth Center, dreaming over his old friend. Adam recognized the look in his eyes and sighed a little. 

"Here we go again!" If just thinking about Aura did this; Adam wondered if he wanted to see what would happen when they met. 

The two Rangers sat with the others at their accustomed table; no one noticed Adam keeping a casual watch on the door. A few minutes later, his vigil was rewarded when Azure and another teenager entered. Adam recognized her from the picture as Aura. 

The older girl sat at the counter, and Adam noticed both the casual glance she gave their group, and the flush that stained her cheeks when she looked at Billy. Azure headed for the changing room, waving at Adam as she did so. 

Kat leaned over to Adam. "Isn't that Azure?" 

Adam nodded. Billy, who'd had his back towards the two girls who'd been his childhood friends, asked, "Who?" He'd only heard them saying something: not what had been said. Kat poked at him. 

"Turn around!" 

Billy glanced over his shoulder, and the look on his face as he recognized the girl sitting at the counter was completely and utterly priceless. 

"Aura!" he breathed. Adam saw Aura's lips quirk almost in a smile, as she tried to pretend she hadn't heard him. 

"Go talk to her!" Adam urged. Billy stared; then got up and walked carefully over to her. 

"Um, Aura?" Billy stared at her; he couldn't help it. "Is that you?" 

Aura carefully sipped her drink, then looked him in the eyes. "It's been seven years, Billy, but you still know me." 

"I'd know you almost anywhere!" Billy smiled. "When did you get back into town?" 

"Saturday," Aura couldn't seem to stop smiling. Billy winced a little. 

"Oh, that must have been the day I was totally out of it. So, where are you guys staying, or was it you who bought the house next door?" 

Aura nodded. "Yeah, we're next door again. Azure told me she'd met your friends at lunch today." 

"Really?" Azure came out just then in workout clothes. "I wonder why they didn't mention it." 

"I tried to," Adam said. "When we were interrupted earlier." 

"Oh, okay," Billy smiled, turning back to Aura. Azure came over to Adam. 

"Ready?" the younger sister asked. Adam already wore his workout clothes. He nodded, and the two of them went down to the workout area, sparring. 

Aura couldn't seem to get her eyes off Billy as she drank in a sight she'd longed for every day of the past seven years. Billy turned his attention back to her. "We've got a lot to catch up on." 

Aura nodded, her flush deepening a bit as she met his eyes. "Yeah." Billy motioned her to join him back with the others. As she did so, Kat noticed something around Aura's neck. 

"Oh, that's weird," she tried to get a closer look. "Can I see it?" 

Aura leaned over, holding out a carved silver medallion with a stone set into the center of it. "I've always had it; as far back as I can remember." 

"It's cool!" Tommy looked at it. Aisha touched the stone gently. "What's that?" 

"An amber," they all glanced at each other at that; thinking of the Amber Ranger. As one the same thought flashed through their minds: _Is Aura the Amber Ranger?_

Tommy asked casually, "When did you say you got into town, Aura?" 

"Saturday morning," Aura stretched a little. "I'm still a little jet-lagged; we packed late into Friday night." A shadow crossed her eyes at the memory of the blinding headache that had overtaken her that night; she'd had another one on the plane on the way to Angel Grove. 

More glances were exchanged, this time more of relief than anything else. 

"I'm hungry!" Rocky declared suddenly. Kat laughed. 

"You're _always_ hungry, Rocky!" 

"I'm a growing boy!" Rocky laughed. "Need my food!" 

Aisha hit Rocky in the stomach. "Yeah, you're growing! Around there!" Everyone got a good laugh out of that. Aura glanced at her watch, and stood up a moment later. 

"Azure!" she called to her sister. "We've got to go, Mom and Dad are expecting us home for dinner!" 

Azure, startled by her sister's call, let Adam trip her up. "Oh, man!" she complained. 

"You OK?" Adam asked. 

"Yeah," she nodded. "But I'll be better if you get off me!" 

Adam smiled and got to his feet. Aura sighed at the look she could clearly see in Azure's eyes. "The girl's got another crush!" 

"Another?" Aisha raised an eyebrow. 

"It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's big!" Aura grinned. 

Azure heard what was going on. "Hey, what's she blabbing about me this time?" 

"Nothing but the truth" Aura teased. 

"Let's get going!" Azure grinned. "Don't want the folks to get ticked at us." 

Aura nodded. "Right!" She glanced casually at Billy as Adam asked, "Want some company?" with a gentle smile at Azure. 

"I'd love some," was Azure's reply. Adam poked Billy in the back unobtrusively, whispering, "Come on, come with us!" 

"Mind if I join you also?" Billy asked. "I need to head that way anyway!" 

"Sure, come along if you must," Aura teased. Azure whispered in her sister's ear, "Flirt!" 

"Learned it from you!" Aura teased back. 

"Hey!" 

"Let's go!" Aura said aloud, cutting off an argument before it could get started. Together, the four of them headed for home. * * * 

"It's so good to be back amongst living plants!" Azure proclaimed as they walked along. 

"You like the woods, huh?" Adam asked. 

Aura leaned over to Billy. "Sounds like a match made in heaven between them already!" 

Ignoring her sister, Azure kept on. "I love them! I'm into the environment! And I _love_ to camp!" 

Adam smiled. "Well, there are some nice camping grounds around here, maybe we could go camping together sometime!" 

"I'd like that," Azure replied. Aura shook her head, smiling, then turned to Billy. 

"I'm glad to be home, Billy." 

"I'm glad you're back," he smiled. "I've missed you." 

Aura returned the grin. "I missed you, too," _More than you'll ever know._ * * * 

"Oh, this is sickening!" Zedd spied on the Rangers and their friends, as usual. "They're enjoying themselves; this must stop at once! Spirit Killer, attack!" * * * 

They were almost home, when suddenly Zedd's monster appeared before them. Azure's scream nearly deafened Rangers and monster alike, while Aura's reaction was totally unexpected. She grabbed two rocks and threw them both at the monster. 

Adam grabbed Billy quickly and whispered, "Man, what are we going to do?" 

"Get them out of here, then get rid of this thing!" Billy replied. He yelled to Aura, "Aura, Azure, run, now!" 

Aura stepped off a couple of paces, then stopped. "What about you two?" 

"We'll hold it off, don't worry, we'll be fine!" Adam cried out. "Now, _go!_" 

"Let's go, Azure!" Aura grabbed her sister and started to pull her away. Azure glanced over her shoulder and called out to Adam, "Be careful!" 

As they ran, Azure heard Aura muttering, "If that thing hurts Billy. . ." 

"I'm sure they can handle themselves!" Azure tried to reassure her sister. Suddenly Aura tripped, and Azure saw her face creased with a familiar pain. "Aura?" 

Aura spoke from between clenched teeth. "Headache. . ._bad_ one." 

"Come on, let's get you home!" * * * 

"Doesn't this thing ever give up?" Billy muttered as he was thrown back by the Spirit Killer once again. 

"This guy is getting on my nerves!" Adam complained as he nearly was grabbed by the four-armed creature. Only Tommy and the others arriving saved him that time. 

"Him again?" the White Ranger asked needlessly. A moment later, the Spirit Killer had Tommy wrapped up in all four his arms. 

"Let's see how you do without your leader, Rangers!" 

Tommy screamed as the monster increased his grip. "No. . .can't. . .let. ..this. . .idiot. .. win. . .," darkness began to gather on the edge of his vision. 

"Not this time, nor ever, Spirit Killer!" It was, once more the Amber Ranger, who pulled Tommy away from the monster and delivered a powerful kick to it at the same time. Tommy collapsed under a near-by tree, while Rocky, Power sword in hand, snapped, "Let's toast this creep!" 

Amber Ranger's Axe appeared in their hand. "Ah, the joy of battling evil with good allies!" 

"Power Blaster!" the Rangers united their weapons and aimed it at Spirit Killer, who didn't wait around long enough to have it fired at him, returning to the moon in a flash of light. 

"Man," Adam shook his head as he went over to Tommy. Rocky glanced at Amber Ranger, who followed them over to the White Ranger. "Thanks, again," the Red Ranger told their strange friend. 

Amber Ranger knelt by Tommy, touching his forehead with gloved fingertips. "He has been hurt worst of all those whom the Spirit Killer has attacked." Tommy's breathing had grown extremely shallow. 

"We've got to get him to the Command Center, but I'm afraid that he's too weak to teleport," Adam was worried; none of them had ever been this badly hurt before. 

"I can help him," Amber Ranger reached out, and the Axe appeared in their hand. "Or rather, the Axe of Kalakan can." 

"How?" 

"Like this," Amber Ranger touched the hilt of the Axe to Tommy's forehead. "Axe of my Ancestors, heal this warrior!" 

As the words were spoken, the Axe glowed suddenly. Tommy moved, and his breathing strengthened. At the same moment, Amber Ranger fell back, the Axe vanishing. 

"Are you all right?" Billy asked, suddenly worried for their mystery ally. 

"Yes," Amber Ranger replied, that toneless voice weak and fading. "But I mus. . ." the Ranger dissolved away into the amber mist. 

"Now where did they go?" Billy wondered before turning his attention back to Tommy. 

"He's breathing," Adam reported. "Let's teleport him back to the Command Center." He glanced over to where Amber Ranger had vanished from. "Wherever it is they go, I hope A.R.'s all right." 

"Same here!" that was echoed by Kat and all the Rangers. * * * 

Tommy, like all the Rangers, was a fast healer, thanks to his powers, but this was still going to take time. "What happened?" he asked weakly. 

"I'll give you three guesses, and the first two don't count," Adam said dryly. 

"Spirit Killer," Tommy conjectured. "And A.R. saved us again." 

Billy nodded. "Yeah. It hurt you extremely badly." 

Tommy nodded. "I can feel it." 

"A.R. saved your life, I think," Aisha mused. Alpha was running scans over Tommy, then the little droid gave his diagnosis. 

"You may want to call in sick tomorrow; you'll need your rest." 

Tommy nodded. "I'm exhausted!" He looked at the others. "Did you find out anything more about A.R.?" 

Billy nodded. "That Axe of theirs can heal, but the energy must come from A.R., since they nearly passed out after helping you." 

Tommy's eyes widened. "Woah. ...we've said it: that is one _strange_ Ranger!" 

RANGERS, GO HOME AND REST. ZEDD WILL NOT HESITATE TO USE SPIRIT KILLER AGAIN. The Rangers nodded in agreement to each other. 

"We need to finish off that thing; I'm tired of it showing up!!!" was Rocky's comment. 

Adam agreed. "Me, too. It would've gotten Azure and Aura if we hadn't gotten them out of there!" 

Billy actually slapped his head. "We need to go see if they are OK. If Rita and Zedd know we like them, no telling what kind of trouble they could cause for us!" 

Adam nodded. "Let's go!" * * * 

Azure closed the door to Aura's room softly; she was sleeping soundly. She sighed; Aura's headaches worried the whole family, but no one ever really mentioned it out loud. 

A knock came from the front door; she quickly ran down before the sound woke up Aura. Billy and Adam were outside, looking none the worst for wear from having faced off with that monster. 

Azure smiled and whispered, "Hey!" 

Billy nodded and said, his voice a normal tone, "We came to see if you guys got home all right." 

Adam smiled. "Hi, Azure!" 

Azure raised a finger to her lips. "Shhh. Aura is having one of her headaches." 

Billy frowned. "Headaches?" 

Azure stepped outside and shut the door, then sat on the porch swing. Adam, after exchanging glances with Billy, sat next to her. "She never told you?" Azure raised an eyebrow in query. 

"Never," Billy looked up at the room he knew was Aura's; she'd kept very little from him in all their years as friends. 

"She stared getting them a couple of years ago." 

"Is she all right?" Billy wondered. 

"Yeah, the most they last is a couple of hours or so," Azure told him. 

"Has she tried to get help?" Adam wondered. 

Azure nodded. "The doctors can't explain it; they've done all kinds of tests; but can't figure anything out. Don't let her know I told you; she doesn't like to talk about them." 

Billy nodded. "I wonder why she didn't tell me, though." 

"Probably didn't want to worry you," Azure suggested. Billy nodded again. 

"I guess not," Billy glanced up again at the window, and hoped with all his heart Aura would be all right. * * * 

Zedd watched what was happening on Earth with extreme and evil interest. "So," he considered. "The Black and Blue Rangers are in love with those two sisters. This could work to our advantage!" 

Rita looked sick. "I hate love!" she groaned. 

"I know," Zedd nodded his agreement. "Well, we'll see how those two deal with their little girlfriends being attacked and destroyed by our Spirit Killer!" 

Rita's wicked laughter echoed throughout the lunar palace. "The Rangers will learn they can't protect anyone: not even those they love the most!" 

"And the world will be _ours_ to destroy!" * * * 

The next afternoon, as Aura and Azure headed home from school, Azure kept a careful eye on her sister. "How's your head?" she asked. 

"No different from when you asked me that about a minute ago," Aura replied, sighing a little. "It's just a headache, Azure! I'm not dying or anything!" 

Azure didn't know whether to agree with her sister right then or strangle her for not taking the headaches as seriously as they might have to be taken. She settled for a different complaint. "Man, I could go for some chocolate right about now!" 

"You and your sweet tooth," Aura giggled, glad of the chance to change the subject. Azure's hyperness wasn't contagious, at least she was thankful for that much. 

"Man, I need to burn off some energy!" Azure started jumping around, doing flips and kicks. One of those flips landed her right in front of a four-armed monstrosity both of them remembered from the day before. 

"How about a few rounds with me, girls!" Spirit Killer reached for Azure, who dodged out of the way quickly. 

"I thought the Rangers took care of that thing yesterday!" Azure jumped to one side as the monster tried to grab her again. 

"Guess not!" Aura threw her bookbag at the monster. Azure flipped over to where her sister was. "Let's get out of here!" was the only thing Azure had time to say before the creature grabbed her firmly. 

"No way, little girl!" it hissed. Aura leaped at the monster, beating and kicking with all her strength. 

_"Leave my sister alone!" _she roared, though it was nearly drowned out by the high-pitched scream Azure let loose at the same moment. Apparently someone was listening to them both, for moments later, the Power Rangers were there. The White Ranger pointed at the monster, his sword in his hand. "I think you can leave these two alone now! The Power Rangers are here!" 

"I was having a great time, White Ranger, until you interrupted it!" Azure fell to the ground, got up to her feet in the same moment, and proceeded to set a land-speed record for getting out of the way of an imminent battle. 

Aura, however, was still there, throwing rocks at the creature. Few people had seen this fiercely protective side of her nature. Once her temper was roused, it wasn't easy to settle back down; and this creature had just pushed all her buttons on the wrong day. 

"Miss!" Black Ranger landed next to her. "You might want to get out of here; this is not a safe place." 

It suddenly sank into Aura's brain just what she was doing, and a moment later, had surpassed her sister's speed-record for leaving a battle-site. As she passed out of sight of the battle, she sank to her knees in sudden pain as another blinding headache tore into her skull. * * * 

"Oh, man, we really need some help on this!" Kat groaned as once more she was thrown to the side by Spirit Killer. "Where's Amber Ranger when we need him, her, whatever!" 

"Should the Rangers need help from me, they have only to call for me, Katherine!" Amber Ranger was there. 

"Just in time," Adam looked away from his fight, and that nearly proved a fatal mistake, as the monster seized him. "Ahhh!!!" he screamed as it began to squeeze the very life from him. 

"As I have said before, your evil shall never prevail so long as a single Ranger stands against you!" Amber Ranger's Axe bit into the monster's shoulder, forcing it to drop the Black Ranger. 

"This will be the last time I fight you Rangers, for you shall all perish!" Spirit Killer declared as lightning came from the skies to make it grow. 

"This is where we take over, A.R.," Tommy declared. "We'll take care of this thing." 

Amber Ranger stood to the side as the others called their Zords, uniting into the NinjaMegaFalconZord. But even this didn't seem to faze the now fifty-feet-tall monster. "I told you that you will perish!" Spirit Killer gloated as it stood over them, ready to deliver the final blow. 

"Never!" this came from Amber Ranger. Rangers and monster alike looked around for the strange warrior, only to see a magnificent amber-colored EagleZord coming down out of the sky, talons outstretched. Missiles and lasers shot towards the Spirit Killer, and had the effect on the monster that every weapon the MegaFalconZord had tried didn't. 

"How come their weapons can pierce it, when we didn't even make a dent!" Rocky complained. 

"Running scans now," Billy was just as curious as Rocky. Moments later, as the Spirit Killer and EagleZord fought, with the Zord raking the monster with talons and laser fire alike, he had his answer. "Oh, man!" 

"What is it, Billy?" Tommy asked as he righted them. 

"Guys, A.R.'s weaponry is on the average about four times more powerful than ours, and has a power source I can't identify!" 

"My weapons are charged from the Heart of Kalakan and the oath that all Amber Rangers have upheld to defend it," Amber Ranger could obviously hear them. "So long as that oath is kept and Kalakan exists, I exist. Now, let us join together in wiping this monstrosity from the face of the clean Earth!" 

The seven Rangers fired at once, and with the beating it had already taken from A.R.'s Zord, Spirit Killer stood no chance whatsoever. It exploded in a magnificent display of lights, sound, and color. 

"The creature has been destroyed!" Amber Ranger's voice, even in victory, was as neutral as it had always been. "It has truly been an honor to fight with you, Power Rangers." 

"You-you're not leaving, are you, A.R.?" Rocky was amazed to find his voice shaking. 

"Only for the moment, Red Ranger," A.R. replied. "But should you need me again: know that I will be here." 

"Thank you, Amber Ranger," Tommy said formally. "It is an honor to know you." 

"I am honored as well, Tommy." 

"How do you know who we are, Amber Ranger?" Billy had to know. 

"I do not know, anymore than I know who I am," the toneless voice somehow managed to sound a trifle sad. "Farewell, Rangers." 

In that moment, Amber Ranger and their EagleZord dissolved back into amber mist. The Rangers exchanged almost sad glances. "We've got a new friend," Tommy said. 

"A new ally," Billy added. 

"Someone who just might need our help as much as we need theirs," Rocky continued. "If they don't even know who they are." 

"Well, we do know this: we've got help in this war now," Kat sighed, then grinned. "And that's going to make Rita and Zedd hopping mad!" * * * 

"NO!" Zedd exploded. "They destroyed my Spirit Killer!" 

Rita moaned, "I'm getting a headache!" She stared at Zedd for a moment. "This is all your fault, Zedd, if you hadn't taken care of the Amber Ranger all those years ago on Kalakan, we wouldn't have to deal with them now!" 

"I _did_ take care of Neras!" Zedd roared. "I don't know who the Amber Ranger we face now is, but this I swear: that Amber Ranger will bow before me or die!" 

He reconsidered. "Perhaps even both." 

"How ya gonna do that, Ed?" Rito stared stupidly at them both. 

"That's _Zedd_!" the Emperor of Evil roared. 

"Oh, stop the screaming, Zedd," Rita snapped suddenly. She left the throne room and returned a moment later, with a box in her hands. She opened it to display the contents, and smiled coldly. "This is how we can do it, Zedd. With these: the Amber Ranger will be ours." 

Evil laughter echoed in the Lunar Palace as Zedd looked inside the box. "Now all that remains is to discover the Amber Ranger's true identity." 

**The End**


	2. Revealed Amber

**Revealed Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

It was one of the most glorious days Adam Park, the Black Ranger, could remember in a long time. Since Zedd and Rita's latest monster, the Spirit Killer, had been destroyed two days earlier, there had been no sign of the two evil lunatics. All the Rangers were taking the unexpected break well, especially he and Billy. 

They were getting the chance to get to know two very special young women better. Billy was out now with Aura Robinson, a friend of his from his childhood, who had recently returned with her family to Angel Grove after a seven-year absence. Adam was with Azure Robinson, Aura's younger sister, walking through the park. 

Adam stole a glance at the girl with him. Auburn hair, hazel eyes, and extremely outgoing, he'd liked her immensely since the moment he'd seen her in one of Billy's pictures less than a week earlier. And wonder of wonders: she liked him as well. 

"Azure," Adam said tentatively. "I was wondering something." 

"What?" she stopped drinking in the park's beauties and turned to him. 

"Um," he took a deep breath. "Would you like to go out to the movies or something tomorrow?" 

She smiled. "Sure!" It would be their first "real" date, and all of a sudden, Adam was so nervous he could barely speak. He managed to utter, "Thanks!", however. 

They hadn't taken three more steps before the peace of the past two days was shattered. Goldar and a platoon of Tengas appeared in front of them. "WHY!?!" Azure screamed. 

"Cause we like to!" Goldar taunted. Adam stopped himself from transforming into the Black Ninja Ranger, remembering Azure was with him. 

"Azure, run!" he ordered, falling into a kung-fu stance. "I'll keep these guys occupied!" 

Azure leaped out of the way, heading for the trees. As soon as she was out of sight, Adam called on his Ninja powers. "All right, Goldar, there's no reason for you to be here!" 

"Time to meet your fate, Ranger!" 

"Yeah, I've heard that before," Adam jumped at Goldar, forcing him to back up, then flipped away to call the other Rangers. "Guys, got Goldar and Tenga troubles in the park!" 

Adam managed to keep Goldar at bay, trading blows and insults with equal enthusiasm. Moments later, the other Rangers, already morphed, arrived. "The Calvary has arrived!" Tommy proclaimed as they started to tear into the Tengas. 

"Thanks, guys!" Adam laughed as the balance of the fight shifted. It didn't take long for Goldar, mentally incompetent as he was, to figure out he wasn't going to win this fight, and leave. As the Rangers demorphed, Adam groaned suddenly. "Thanks, guys, but I've got to find Azure, make sure she's all right!" 

The others nodded and left, as Adam headed into the woods. He hoped Azure was all right; and also hoped she hadn't somehow seen him morphing. A soft voice came from behind him as he searched. 

"Adam?" it was Azure, rubbing a skinned knee and looking annoyed. 

"Azure? Are you all right?' 

"Yeah," she nodded. "Just a little bruised; I tripped on that root there." He glanced at it quickly. 

"You'll be okay," Adam helped her to her feet. She nodded. 

"Thanks. I think I'd better go wash it off, before it gets infected." * * * 

Billy walked back into the Youth Center, hoping Aura wouldn't be mad at him. He'd had to leave to go help Adam with the Tengas; Aura hadn't looked upset, but it was hard sometimes for even him to tell what she was feeling. 

"Sorry about that," he sat back down. 

"What was the problem?" Aura raised one eyebrow elegantly. 

"Nothing much," he smiled a little. "Just forgot to turn off an experiment and my folks were wondering how to turn it off before it blew up our house." 

Aura laughed. "You never change, Billy. It's a good thing you _didn't_ blow up your house: you would have probably gotten mine along with it!" 

Just then Azure and Adam came in. "Hey!" Aura waved to her sister. Azure waved back, then headed for the restroom as Adam came over to sit with them. 

"She just scraped her knee." 

Aura shook her head. "She's always scraping something. The girl's got more bruises and scars than you can imagine, generally from falling off something or over it!" 

"A tree root this time," Adam smiled a little, and glanced over at Billy. Billy looked back at him, a questioning glance in his eyes. Aura got up. 

"I'll go see if she's all right," Aura headed for the restroom. As soon as she was out of earshot, Adam leaned over and whispered, "Would you like to know where I found Azure?" 

"Where?" 

"Behind a tree, near where we were attacked." 

"Oh, man," Billy groaned. "Do you think she saw anything?" 

Adam shrugged. "She hasn't said anything about it; I don't know." 

"If she saw, she's say something, I think." 

Adam glanced worriedly at the restroom. "I hope you're right." * * * 

"Ouch," Azure carefully dabbed at the scrape. Her sister's voice surprised her suddenly. 

"Hey, Azure, what happened this time?" 

"Tripped on a tree root," her voice was a touch distracted. Aura came closer to her, frowning. 

"Azure, you're thinking about something," the two sisters knew each other well enough to tell moods at a glance. 

"It's nothing," Azure demurred. 

"Azure, I know you too well," Aura wasn't giving up. "What's on your mind?" 

Azure sighed. "Aura, pleased, trust me on this one. It's nothing." 

"All right," Aura smiled a little, trusting her sister was no real effort for her; she'd trust Azure with her life, much less with a secret. 

"I guess I should get back to Adam," Azure headed for the door. 

"And I should get back to Billy," Aura's characteristic small smile appeared again. "Oh, Azure, he still thinks of us as just friends. I can tell." 

Azure put a comforting hand on her sister's arm. "I'm sure that'll change; I've seen how he looks at you!" 

Before Aura could comment on that, Azure headed back out to the main part of the Youth Center. "Hey, Adam!" Azure grinned a greeting as she sat down. 

"How's the knee?" he asked. 

"It stings, but I'll live," she told him. 

"Good," Adam glanced around a little. "I'm glad you're okay. Hey, guess what?" 

"What?" Azure seemed a bit distracted by something. 

"The Power Rangers came to get rid of those bird-things, they're called Tengas," Adam tried to feel her out; see if she'd seen him morph. "Did you see them?" 

"Huh?" Azure glanced at him, then away again. "No." 

"You missed them?" Adam tried not to sound as relieved as he was. "Oh, man, that's too bad." 

"Yeah," Azure nodded. "Maybe next time." 

Adam laid his hand on top of hers gently. "I'm just glad you're all right." 

"So am I," Azure met his eyes. "Care to finish our walk?" 

"Sure," he smiled at her as they left the Youth Center, and Billy and Aura alone together. 

"I hope nothing's wrong," Aura watched them leave. "It seemed like Azure had something on her mind." 

"It's probably just the shock of being attacked," Billy suggested. Aura nodded. 

"I guess," _I hope you're right._ If anything ever happened to Azure, Aura wouldn't know what to do with herself; her sister was her stability. 

The conversation between them died a little; until Billy took a chance on something. "So, want to go to that concert in the park tonight?" 

Aura's eyes widened in surprise. "Sure," was the first and only thing she uttered. 

"Great!" he smiled. "I'll pick you up around five, we can grab some food on the way there then." 

Aura smiled. "I'll be ready." _Oh, man, he asked me out, I don't believe this! I'm dreaming, I've got to be!_

"So," Billy decided to find out what the last few years had held for her. "Were you seeing anyone in New York?" 

She shook her head. "No one ever wanted to go out with me," she didn't mention that was because of her headaches; there had been rumors going around she had some terminal disease and just wasn't telling; that didn't make for a very active social life. 

"Then you went to school with a bunch of idiots!" Billy declared, somewhat outraged that people had treated her like that. Aura turned red. 

"I wasn't very popular there; I guess I'm just not that type of person." 

Billy smiled; he had a nice surprise for her. "I got a call from Kimberly today. You'll never guess what she told me!" 

"What?" Aura barely heard him; she was too happy at having a date with him. 

"Jason, Zack, Trini, and herself arranged some time off and are coming here to see," he paused for a moment, a huge grin spreading across his face. "You!" 

The look of surprise on her face was incredible. "Really?" 

Billy nodded. "Both Tommy and I told Kim that you were back, and she went and told the others. They all decided unanimously to come and see you." 

Aura smiled. "It's been far too long since we were all together." 

Billy nodded. "Yeah, it has," he found himself happily drowning in her gray eyes. 

Aura gazed into his, more at peace than she'd been in a while. Neither of them noticed Tommy coming up next to them until he cleared his throat rather noisily. "Hey, guys!" They both jerked back and looked at him; he continued speaking as if nothing had happened. "Hear the good news?" 

"Yes," Aura nodded. "All my old friends are coming back to town." 

Tommy looked surprised, until Billy told him Kim had called him the night before and let the little secret out. "Oh, okay," he smiled. 

"I can't wait to see them all again," Aura's eyes had drifted back to Billy, who had never really taken his from her. 

"They'll be here tomorrow morning," Tommy told them. "I think I should leave." 

"That's good," Aura said absently. "Can't wait to see them again." 

Tommy backed away, then grinned. "Billy, there's something crawling on your leg!" He left quickly after that. 

"Did Tommy say something?" Aura wondered vaguely. 

"Um, what?" Billy glanced absently at his leg, then looked at the retreating White Ranger. "Tommy!" * * * 

As Tommy left the Youth Center, he was laughing so hard he ran straight into Rocky. "Hey, what's going on?" Rocky asked. 

"Aura and Billy," Tommy grinned. Man, those tow can't see two feet in front of them." 

Rocky looked confused. "What do you mean?" 

"You should've seen how they were staring at each other just a second ago in the Youth Center!" 

"Really?" Rocky grinned a little. 

Tommy nodded. "I don't think Billy noticed me telling him he had something crawling up his leg!" 

Rocky giggled. "He's got it bad for Aura, doesn't he?" 

"And vice-versa!" 

Rocky shook his head. "Why don't they just tell each other they like each other and be done with it?" 

Aisha and Kat joined them just then, and heard what he said. "Sometimes, it's not that easy." 

"What do you mean?" Rocky frowned in incomprehension. 

"They're so much in love, they don't even realize it," Kat shrugged. 

"But she's been gone seven years!" Rocky couldn't really imagine loving someone who'd been gone that long. 

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder?" Tommy suggested. 

Rocky shrugged again. "Maybe we should tell them they care about each other? If that's what it takes. . ." 

Tommy shook his head. "Think they want us barging in on their relationship? Sometimes it just takes time!" 

"I guess so," Rocky sighed. The conversation slowly turned to other subjects less interfering in their friends' romantic lives: such as Rocky's lack of one. * * * 

"Hope you like it," Billy couldn't believe he and Aura were actually on a date together. "Zack's cousin Curtis is performing." 

"I think I met him," Aura remembered. "Just before we moved." 

"I think so," Billy nodded as they found a place to sit. "This is going to be good." * * * 

"Ah, so the two lovebirds want to enjoy a quiet evening of jazz music?" Zedd watched with evil, gleaming eyes. "Let us put a stop to that!? 

Rita cackled. "Yes! And perhaps discover who the Amber Ranger is while we're at it! I noticed they didn't show up for our Tenga attack earlier!" 

Zedd nodded, then raised his staff, aiming it at the popcorn-making machine near the open-air theater. "Arise, Popanator, and destroy those Rangers!" 

Rita laughed. "We'll see if _this_ brings out the Amber pest!" * * * 

"He's good, isn't he?" Billy smiled as the music washed all over and around them. Aura nodded; this was a perfect date; nothing at all was going wrong. 

"I am here! Popanator is here to destroy you all!" the voice was coming from the concession stand. Billy stood up and quite literally groaned in outrage. "Where are the Power Rangers?!?! Fight me, Rangers, if you dare!" 

"Oh, man!" Aura stared at the creature; it was hideous, and the pounding headache that began as she stared at it wasn't make it look any better. She stepped back, closing her eyes. 

Billy glanced at her, then around. People were running around like madmen. Aura sank to her knees, barely able to see, think, or hear with the headache. _This isn't what I need today! _Billy mentally groaned. _Well, I don't think Aura's going to hear me if her headache's that bad._ "Guys, get over here to the park theater, we've got a monster on the loose!" 

_Need to get Aura out of here. _His problem was solved a moment later, when Aura collapsed, passing out from the wracking pains in her head. "Aura?" This had never happened before! The other Rangers teleported in a few moments later. 

"Billy? What's wrong?" Tommy asked as they became solid. 

"We've got a monster over here, and Aura's passed out in my car!" Billy was about to pull his hair out with frustration. 

"Great!" Tommy glanced quickly at Aura. "She'll be safe in there, we've got work to do!" 

"Okay," the Rangers got down to business. "It's Morphin' Time!" 

One by one, they morphed and leaped into battle. Popanator was a far deadlier foe than they'd first imagined, though, as was proven when he had Adam thrown into a tree, Kat surrounded by Tengas, and Tommy and Billy both thrown into the lake twice each. 

"Man, we could use some help!" Rocky groaned as Popantor gut-punched him several times. 

"Greetings, Rangers!" it was the Amber Ranger! 

"Good timing!" Tommy was glad to see the strange warrior arrive at last. 

The Ranger raised their Axe in salute, then turned to the monster. "Time to perish, Popanator!" 

The extra Ranger made all the difference, as moments after Amber Ranger's arrival, Popanator was destroyed. Standing over the monster's remains, Amber Ranger nodded at the others. "I am honored to be your ally, Power Rangers!" 

"As we are to have you on our side. Thank you once again!" 

Amber Ranger raised the Axe again, then vanished into the same amber mist. Billy didn't even notice; he had something and someone else altogether on his mind. "We'd better go check on Aura," he told the others as they demorphed, heading for his car. 

"I hope she's all right," Aisha commented. 

"Didn't Azure say something about these headaches only lasting a short time?" Adam wondered as they headed out. 

"Let's go find out," was Tommy's advice. At Billy's car, Aura was just coming around. 

"Ohhh. . .Billy?" she winced as she opened her eyes. 

"Yeah, it's me," Billy smiled a little at her. "You want me to take you home?" 

"No," she touched her forehead for a moment, frowning. "It's easing off now. Is everyone here all right? Did the Power Rangers get here to destroy that thing?" 

Billy nodded. "Everyone's fine. We're getting you home, though." 

Aura smiled weakly. "I'll be fine." She hadn't wanted Billy to know about her headaches; much less everyone else. 

"I'm still taking you home, though," Billy didn't like the pain he could still see in Aura's eyes. "You need some rest." 

She sighed and yawned. "If you insist." 

Adam smiled at her gently. "You take care of yourself, Aura." 

Aura smiled back at him. "You take care of Azure, Adam, she really likes you." 

Adam flushed a little; he hadn't really expected to be told that quite so suddenly. "I will. Tell her I'll see her tomorrow" 

Aura nodded as Billy started the car. "I will." * * * 

When they pulled up in front of the Robinsons' house a few minutes later, Azure was waiting for them on the front porch. "You two all right? I heard about that monster at the theater on the news. What was it?" 

Aura smiled. "Apparently nothing the Power Rangers couldn't handle. Wish I'd been able to see it." 

Azure glanced at Billy as he helped Aura out of the car. "I'm sure they handled it just fine." 

Billy frowned a bit as he noticed the look Azure was giving him, but didn't say anything in return. "I'll see you tomorrow, Billy. I want to rest some." 

"Okay," Billy nodded, then leaned over and kissed her gently on the cheek. Aura stared at him, pure shock in her eyes, looking almost as if she'd been struck by lightning. 

"Come on, sis, let's get you inside before there's another monster attack!" Azure pulled at Aura's sleeve. The elder girl walked into the house, looking back every few seconds to stare at Billy, a gentle smile curving her lips. 

"Come on, Juliet, Romeo will be there in the morning!" Azure teased her as the door closed behind them. 

Aura smiled and leaned against the wall. "Oh, Azure, if it weren't for these headaches, everything would be so perfect!" She smiled even wider. "Hey, did you hear? Jason, Zack, Trini, and Kim are coming back tomorrow for a visit!" 

Azure, who hadn't changed much from her pensive mood of earlier, perked up. "That's great!" 

Aura nodded. "It'll be great to see them. It's been too long." 

"Wonder if they changed any?" 

Aura looked over at her sister, who was staring out the window. "In seven years. . .probably." 

Azure laughed, then returned her gaze to whatever she was looking out through the glass. "True." 

Aura was still thinking over seeing her old friends again. "You know, Trini and Kim kept telling me back then, before we ever left Angel Grove, that Billy and I would wind up together." 

"Uhhhh," was Azure's response. 

"Azure?" Aura looked at her sister, who still stared out the window. 

"Yeah," Azure didn't seem to be paying that much attention. Aura decided to try and find out. 

"Azure, Adam just got eaten by a fifty-foot centipede," Aura said it as if it were completely believable. 

"Uh-huh," Azure nodded absently. "That's nice." 

Aura gritted her teeth. Time for the ultimate. "Adam just married the Queen of England." 

"What?!" She jerked around to stare at Aura, who laughed. 

"What's on your mind?" 

"I'd rather not talk about it," Azure sighed. 

"Come on, what can't you say to your big sister?" Aura cajoled her. 

"Please, don't," Azure sighed a little. 

Aura spent a long moment looking at her sister, then finally said, "All right. But tell me this much, does it have to do with Adam?" 

"A little." 

"If you need help, let me know," Aura laid a gentle hand on Azure's shoulder before going up to bed. She didn't hear her sister's soft voice behind her, whispering, "If you can help." * * * 

"This can't be!" Zedd once more paced in fury around his throne room. "Who is that Amber Ranger?!" 

"I don't know, but I intend to find out!" Rita declared. 

"We need another monster," Zedd decided. "To lure the Amber Ranger out and discover who they are!" He threw himself down onto his throne, then sat bolt upright a moment later. "Let us see how the Rangers deal with their precious girlfriends being attacked! 

"We already did that!" Rita snapped. "With Spirit Killer: it wound up being destroyed in that same battle, remember!" 

"But this time, the Rangers won't be anywhere near to help them! We'll send down Goldar and the Tengas to tear those girls to shreds!" 

"Excellent plan, my dear!" Zedd complimented her. "As soon as they are alone, we attack!" * * * 

Zack caught Alpha in a tight hug. "Man, I've missed you two!" 

"Hi, Zack!" Alpha did indeed sound happy to see the old Rangers. 

"It's good to have you guys back again," Tommy was busy shaking hands with all of his old friends. Kim tackled him with a fierce hug. 

"We've missed you guys, too!" the former Pink Ranger kissed Tommy tenderly. Tommy returned the hug with all his heart. 

"Aura's going to love seeing you guys again. I hear you were all close back when you were kids?" 

Jason nodded, and was about to say something else, when Trini interrupted. "Billy? You okay?" 

"I was thinking about Aura," Billy said, a worried look in his eyes. 

"Something wrong with her?" Jason asked, frowning. His frown got even worse when Billy explained about Aura's headaches, and especially how she'd passed out the day before. 

"Man, there's gotta be something we can do about those." He glanced up at Zordon in question. 

THERE IS LITTLE WE CAN DO FOR HER, RANGERS. Zordon pronounced solemnly. 

"There's got to be_ something,_" Billy cast his glance all around the room. "Don't tell me we can save the world from here, but we can't so much as cure a headache!" 

YOU MAY USE THE MEDICAL SCANNER, Zordon relented. BUT BE CAREFUL THAT SHE DOES NOT NOTICE YOU DOING SO. 

"Thanks, Zordon," Billy picked it up. "That shouldn't be a problem with you guys back. I don't think she'll notice a thing!" 

"So what are we waiting for?" Zack laughed. "Let's go see those two sisters!" * * * 

Aura waited in the park for her friends; Billy had called earlier and told her to meet them all there. Hands suddenly covered her eyes, and a familiar voice, deepened by seven years' of growth, whispered, "Guess who?" 

"Jason!" oh, he had grown up _very_ large and built. She turned and gave him a warm hug. It was rather like being hugged by a huge teddy bear as he returned the embrace. 

"It's so good to see you again!" All of them were there, all the old gang. She rushed straight into Zack's hug after Jason released her. 

"Hey, where's that sister of yours?" he asked her. 

"Off somewhere," Aura frowned. "She's had something on her mind the past few days." 

Rocky seized Adam's glance. "What did you do to her?" 

"Nothing!" Adam insisted. 

"What's going on here?" Jason looked at Adam, then over to Aura, hoping someone would explain things. 

"Last time she acted even remotely normal was yesterday, after she got back from a walk in the park with Adam." 

"I think she likes him!" Rocky teased a bit. 

"I know she does," Aura nodded almost absently. "But I want to know what's on her mind." 

"Maybe we could go and find out?" Zack suggested. 

"I'll go," Aura nodded. "She'll talk to me before anyone else, I hope." 

Jason smiled. "Tell her we want to see her!" 

Aura smiled. "I'll bring her back here kicking and screaming if I have to!" 

It didn't take long for Aura to find Azure, who was sitting under a tree staring into the distance. "Azure?" Aura spoke softly. Her sister looked up, startled. 

"Aura? What are you doing here?" 

"Looking for you." 

Azure smiled a little. "Still trying to find out what I'm thinking about?" 

Aura nodded. "The others are here, Jason, Zack, Trini. They want to see you." 

Azure sighed. "A little later. I just don't feel like being around people right now." 

Aura sat next to her. "What's wrong? Talk to me, please, Azure!" 

"I can't," Azure insisted. "I'm sorry, Aura, but I just can't do it!" 

"Awwww, what a touching scene!" They both looked up to see a seven-foot-tall golden-armored monkey leering at them. 

Aura leaped to her feet. "Oh, great!" She winced suddenly as another headache began to pound through her head. 

"What the-?!" Azure was already into a fighting stance. 

"Get out of here, whatever you are!" 

Goldar, for that was who it was, laughed, sword upraised. "Never! I am going to destroy you!" 

"Don't you touch my sister!" Aura leaped at Goldar, only to be knocked aside into a tree. 

"Stupid human!" Goldar snapped. He grabbed Azure and threw her roughly into a rock outcropping. Azure sank into unconsciousness, managing to gasp out, "Aura. . .get Adam. . .", before she passed out. 

Aura snarled, leaping at Goldar. "You _hurt my sister!_" 

"Like I care! It's your turn to be hurt!" Goldar lashed out at her with his sword. Aura managed to dodge it, but tripped over a rock. As she fell to the ground, Goldar laughed and loomed over her, sword upraised. 

A moment later, before his sword began to fall, Goldar stepped back. "YOU!" he screamed as the Amber Ranger appeared before him. 

"You shall not harm any more innocents, Goldar!" the mysterious warrior announced. 

"Good! It is time to die, Amber Ranger! The others cannot help you! Rito is making sure of that!" 

Amber Ranger laughed. "The Rangers can handle that buffoon. . .but _you are mine!"_

"We shall see!" 

The battle began. * * * 

"So, Amber Ranger, you have finally revealed your true self!" Zedd crowed in triumph. They had finally seen the Amber Ranger morphing. 

"How can it be them!?" Rita had never been more shocked in her life. 

"I do not know," Zedd shook his head. "But we must destroy them!" 

"Not destroyed," Rita's gaze turned crafty. "Control." 

"Perfect, my pet!" Zedd laughed. "We will use the Amber Ranger to destroy the others!" * * * 

At the same time, the Rangers and their friends were involved in a fight with Tengas and Rito. "You guys make me sick!" Kim declared as she kicked a Tenga. 

"Oh, man, what are these things?" Jason was doing his best against them, but the majority of the fighting was being done by the Ninja Rangers. 

"They're Tengas!" Adam called out. He stifled an oath as a Tenga kicked him, then threw the bird into the lake. Just as he did, one of the Tengas snatched the scanner from Billy. 

"Hey, this must be important!" he squawked. 

"Destroy it!" another one replied. That was all the incentive the other one required, and a moment later, the scanner was smashed into pieces. 

"No!" Billy screamed. Rito wandered up then, laughing evilly. 

"What's the matter, Rangers?" he giggled. "Your little Amber friend decide not to show up?" 

Tommy yelled, "We can handle you without A.R.! It's not like your a genius or anything!" 

"Or even have a normal IQ!" Aisha laughed. 

"Hey! I'm not dumb!" Rito yelled back. 

"You sure look it!" Zack laughed. 

"What do you say we use the Power Blaster on this idiot!?" Rocky suggested as Rito hit Zack in the shoulder. 

"Sounds like a good idea to me, Rocky!" Kat laughed. Then from behind Rito came a familiar figure, running up instead of appearing in mist. 

"Rangers!" Amber Ranger called out. "Your friends, Azure and Aura, were attacked by Goldar!" 

"What's happened to them?" Billy frowned in worry. 

Rito, hearing the voice behind him, turned. "Oh, no, not you!" he wailed. That was all he had time to say before Amber Ranger's gauntleted fist knocked him back a good ten feet. 

"Ohhhh," Rito moaned as he got up. "My achin' noggin!" he vanished, his last words being, "I'm outta here!" 

Amber Ranger nodded in triumph, then looked over at the Rangers. "You had best find your friends, Rangers. I took care of Goldar, but had to come and help you as well. I would not have left them, but your needs were greater." 

"We'll find them," Adam assured their friend. "Thanks, A.R." 

"My pleasure," the Amber Ranger bowed again, then dissolved back into mist. 

"Just who the heck was _that?_" Jason wondered. 

"Jason, Zack, Trini, Kim: that was the Amber Ranger," Tommy smiled as they demorphed. 

"So there are seven of you guys now?" Zack asked. 

"Apparently so," Kat nodded. "The thing is, no one knows who A.R. really is: not even A.R.!" 

Tommy noticed Adam and Billy's worried expressions. "Let's go help Aura and Azure." * * * 

"Oohhh. . .what happened?" Azure opened her eyes to see Aura across from her. She winced as pain shot all through her from her shoulder. 

"Azure?" Aura spoke quietly. The younger girl sat up and leaned against a tree, almost crying with the pain of her shoulder. 

"Azure," Aura managed to make it over to her. "I. . .guess that thing left. I tripped, hit my head. Your arm?" 

"It hurts," Azure groaned. 

A familiar voice called out, "Azure! Aura!" It was Adam, who ran into the clearing with the others right behind him. "There you are!" 

Aura glanced up. "Adam, guys. . .Azure's hurt." 

"Man," Adam ran straight to Azure. "Where?" 

"My shoulder," Azure leaned back, closed her eyes, and winced a touch. 

Adam carefully picked her up. "We'd better get her to a doctor. This doesn't look too serious, but better safe than sorry." 

Azure nodded. "Let's go." 

"I hope you're all right, Azure," Aura hovered protectively over her sister. "That thing looked like it could cause a lot of damage." 

"I wonder what that thing was," Adam caught Azure glancing at him as she spoke. 

"Goldar," he spoke without really thinking through what he was saying. Azure winced again as he jostled her accidentally. "Oh, sorry!" * * * 

Zedd was in fine form as he berated Rito and Goldar. "You couldn't even take care of two simple human girls! You are an idiot, Goldar! And as for you, Rito! Well, you are one of the dumbest creatures alive!" 

"It wasn't my fault!" Rito grumbled. 

Zedd peered down at the Earth, watching the Rangers and their friends at the hospital. "At least you managed some damage on that Azure girl. And next time, we will be victorious!" 

"Yeah," Goldar decided to simply agree; it was the easiest way to get along. 

"Now that we know who the Amber Ranger is, we can't help but win!" Rita cackled insanely, Zedd joining her. * * * 

Aura, Zack, Jason, Trini, and Kim were walking through the park. Aura had wanted some time along to spend with the friends she hadn't seen in a while; Azure would be getting out of the hospital later that day. Aura hadn't said much since the attack two days previously, her thoughts churned over and over inside her mind. 

"You know, you're starting to act like Azure was a couple of days ago," Zack probed gently. 

"Sorry, Zack," Aura sighed. "Just thinking about a few things." 

"It must run in the family," Jason sighed, shaking his head. "Want to talk about it, or are you going to be stubborn?" 

Aura sighed. "I don't know how to say it. But. . .I'm going to stop going anywhere with Billy." 

"Why?!" Trini was shocked. "I thought you two liked each other." 

Aura whispered. "I love him." 

"So why stop being around him? If you love him, _go for it!_" 

"Because every time we try and do anything, a monster or those bird-things or something shows up! I can't take that!" 

"And you're scared of ending up in the hospital like Azure?" 

Aura nodded. "Right, Zack. I know the Rangers show up and take care of things, but I don't want to keep counting on that." 

Jason shrugged. "I hope Billy understands. It's your decision." 

Aura's voice was even lower this time. "I'm not going to tell him. I'm just going to stop. I couldn't face him with that." 

Jason shook his head. "You're not being fair to him. But do what you think is right." 

Aura's gray eyes swam with tears. "I don't want to do it: but Azure was hurt, and I can't stand that." 

Zack hugged her gently. "If you ever want to talk, call one of us OK?" 

Aura smiled gently. "Thanks, Zack. Thanks, all of you. Just don't tell Billy my reasons, please. He'd try to talk me out of it. . .and I don't want to be talked out of it." 

Trini put an arm around Aura's shoulders as she wept. "Oh, Trini, I already miss him: it feels like there's a hole in my heart that nothing can fill up but him." 

Kim took one of Aura's hands. "Aura, if things are meant to be, they will be. You know that and I know that." 

"I don't believe in destiny," Aura sighed. "But it would be nice to know that I didn't have to worry about it." 

Trini and Kim exchanged glances; it was rough on all of them to see Aura this depressed. "Don't worry," Jason advised. "Everything will work out in the end." 

"I hope so, Jason," Aura took a deep breath. "I truly hope so." 

**The End**


	3. Flawed Amber

**Flawed Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

It had been a long and lonely week for Billy Cranston. For that entire week, Aura Robinson had been actively avoiding him. He didn't know what to think; they'd been so happy to see each other when she'd returned after seven years in New York; he knew he hadn't imagined that. 

"Penny for your thoughts, or am I going to get change back?" Adam Park spoke up from next to him. They were both in his room, and Billy at least was staring incessently at the house next door: and specifically at the window right across from his. Aura lived there, in that house and in the room behind that window. 

"Change," Billy sighed deeply. What was her problem, he wondered? 

"Spill it!" Adam insisted. "What's wrong!" 

Billy held his peace a few moments longer, then finally, "Aura. I don't know why she just stopped even _talking_ to me! Did I do something wrong? Did I hurt her feelings somehow?" 

Adam shrugged. "I wish I could tell you. Azure won't even mention Aura around me recently. Heck, she's been so moody lately I've been afraid to say just about anything to her!" 

Billy's answering sigh was deep enough to come from his toes. "I wish _one_ of them would talk to me, tell me what's going on." 

"Did you try calling her?" 

Billy nodded. "She says, 'hello', I tell her, 'it's Billy', she says, 'I have to wash my hair,' and hangs up!" 

Adam glanced at the house next door briefly. "No wonder there's a drought going on somewhere in the world, Aura keeps washing her hair!" 

Adam's little joke was rewarded by a brief grin from Billy. "I don't know, Adam," Billy sighed. "I really think I'm in love with her, but she won't _talk_ to me." 

"Want me to call her?" Adam offered. 

Billy shook his head. "Why? So _you_ can get told she's washing her hair!?" 

"That and have Azure curious as to why I'm calling her sister," Adam smiled a touch himself. He reached over to the phone. "I'm going to do it anyway." * * * 

"How is he?" it was Azure. Aura looked up from where she was staring at Billy's house. Her sister sat next to her, jostling her still-injured arm. In the past week her dislocated shoulder had almost completely healed, but she still was careful with it. 

"How would I know?" Aura sighed. "I haven't talk to him in a week." 

"Aura, I can't believe you're ending a romance _before_ it even started!" 

Aura snapped, "Do _you_ enjoy getting jumped by monsters, bird-things, and that monkey with wings every time you go out with Adam?" 

"That's hardly happened!" Azure retorted. "But even if it did, I'd get used to it: I wouldn't let it spoil my love life!" 

Aura sighed. "I wish I could, but I hate seeing people I care about hurt. I care too much about Billy to see him get hurt byo ne of those things." 

Azure touched Aura's hand lightly to get her full attention. "Is this because of what that thing, Goldar, did to my arm? It was bound to happen with how clumsy I am!" 

"Maybe," Aura shrugged. "Maybe not." 

Azure looked at her sister, shaking her head. "Call him! They can't attack while you're on the phone!" 

Aura smiled a little. "I don't know. . .," she hedged, trying to avoid doing what she'd wanted to do for the past week. 

Azure reached over Aura and picked up the phone, handing it to her sister. "Please!" 

Aura sighed. "I give up, you win!" Just as Aura's hand touched the phone, it rang noisily. Aura, nerves on edge already, dropped the phone and leaped back a good two feet, breathing hard. Azure giggled at her sister's reaction, then fell silent as Aura answered the phone. 

"Hello?" 

"Hey, is Aura home? And please don't tell me she's washing her hair, some poor country is probably starving with how much she washes it!" 

Aura giggled. "This is me." 

"Good! That country gets some relief! This is Adam," Aura had known that from the moment he'd spoken. "I need to talk to you about something." 

"What about?" 

"Billy," Adam told her. "What's going on with you ignoring him? He's been depressed all week because of that!" 

"I don't want to see him get hurt, Adam," Aura replied softly. "Those things kept on attacking every time we so much as moved outside together!" 

Adam was quick to inform her, "Billy's good at martial arts, he knows how to fall correctly, and not get hurt!" 

Aura started to speak again, "I. . .," her eyes fell on a picture of Billy, and her resolve crumbled. "Give him the phone, Adam. I know you wouldn't have called if he weren't right there." 

"Okay," Adam handed Billy the phone. 

"Aura?" Billy asked gingerly. 

"No, it's the Shah of Iran, who else would it be?" 

Billy laughed; he'd truly missed Aura's quirky sense of humor. "I miss you so much," he admitted. 

"And I miss you," Aura replied softly. "I've been an idiot, Billy, and I want to see you again." 

If Aura could have seen how Billy's eyes lit up at that, she would never have been able to resist calling him for a moment. "How about now?" 

Aura's warm laughter sounded. "How about five minutes ago?" 

"I'll meet you outside!" Billy promised. "Want to go to the Youth Center?" 

"Anywhere," Aura smiled. He was the only one who heard what she whispered next, "As long as it's with you." 

Billy smiled. "How quickly can you get ready? I'll be waiting outside of my house!" 

"I want to see Azure!" came a familiar voice in the background. 

"Give me five minutes to change, and I'll be right there," Aura laughed softly. "Was that Adam just now?" 

"Who _else_ would scream 'I want to see Azure'" Billy asked dryly. 

"No one I can think of that she'd _want_ to see," Aura sighed dramatically. 

"Does she want to see him? Cause I can tell him to bug off if she doesn't want to see him!" Billy spoke sarcastically so rarely, it would taken someone like Aura, who had known him all his life, to know he wasn't serious. 

Aura glanced over at her sister. "You wouldn't want to come with Billy and me to the Youth Center, would you? Adam said something about wanting a new punching bag!" 

"What?" Azure had been lost in a daydream of the handsome Adam. "Only if he says he'll be nice to his punching bag!" she replied, once it had sunk in what her sister had said. 

Aura giggled and relayed the message to Billy. "I'll see you then!" he told her and hung up. Aura smiled broadly, then immediately began to tear her room apart in the search for the ever-elusive "perfect" outfit to wear. * * * 

"So, they think they can enjoy themselves?" Lord Zedd watched the two couples from the moon. Rita grinned wickedly next to him. 

"We'll show them differently, won't we, Zeddy!" 

Zedd nodded his agreement, then returned to a problem that had bothered him for the past week. "I need to know _how_ the Amber Ranger morphs. . .that way, it'll be easier to control her morphing powers, but I haven't been able to find _anything _that will tell me! Perhaps a monster is in order!" 

"Once we control her morphing powers," Rita smiled coldly. "We control _her_!!" The evil queen mused for a moment. "A monster. . ." 

"Now to find the perfect one. ..and wait for the perfect opportunity!" * * * 

Aura smiled a little, as she saw Billy and Adam emerging from Billy's house. She paused for a moment, then ran straight to Billy, her heart overflowing. He caught her in a hug, both of them ignoring Adam and Azure near them. 

"Hi, Azure," Adam said a little tenatively. 

"Hi," she nodded a quiet reply. 

"So. . . how have you been?" Adam didn't know why Azure was suddenly so moody around him, but decided not to worry too much over it. It would pass. He hoped. 

"You saw me yesterday at lunch," Azure spoke quietly. "I'm the same." At her quiet regard, words failed the usually-silent young man. 

"Come on, let's get to the Youth Center before Rocky eats all the food!" Billy at least released Aura from his embrace. 

"He would, too, wouldn't he?" Aura giggled a touch. 

"Without a doubt!" Adam agreed. As they started for the Youth Center, he carefully raeched out and took Azure's hand, half-expecting her to pull away from him for some reason. Instead, he was pleasantly surprised when Azure squeezed his hand gently. 

"Looks like they're together," Aura whispered softly to Billy. 

"Sure does," Billy nodded. 

"I'm glad," Aura took Billy's hand in hers and squeezed it gently, glad she'd finally gotten past her pride. 

"So am I," Billy returned the squeeze. He smiled as he looked down at their joined hands. He'd wanted to be with Aura like this for so long. . . 

"So, what do you want to do today?" he asked. A flat musical note interrupted him, as did all-too-familiar squawking. "Man!!" 

"Again!" Aura snapped. A monster formed from a young girl's mellophone, and was joined moments later by a group of Tengas. "Every time!" 

"Why are they doing this to us!" Billy complained, though he had an idea. 

The Mellobeast lurched towards them, leering at Aura. "Hey girlie! Ya ever tink dat yer boyfriend here is da reason youse is always getting attacked?" 

"Go jump off a cliff," was Aura's reaction, as she kicked at the monster. She was tired of having her dates interrupted by these things! 

Billy glared at the monster, thinking as fast as he could. Need to get the others here. . but how? 

Aura leaped at the monster again, her rage overcoming her good sense. She kicked and hit at the monster, which only laughed at her efforts. Then as she landed a particularly hard blow in a sensitive region, it growled, "Dat's it....I is gonna take youse out. B sharp or you'll end up flat!" It played an extremely out of tune note then, causing Aura to wince in pain. 

"I don't know which is worse, your jokes or your looks!" 

Billy shook his head. "Why do all of their monsters say bad puns?" 

Mello laughed wickedly. "It was in the manual. Monsters MUST say bad puns." 

"I suggest you get a new manual," Aura advised as she launched another kick at the creature. Billy yelled at her, "Get out of here!" 

Azure grabbed Aura by one arm and started to drag her away. Aura cried out Billy's name, then they were out of sight and out of the way. Billy and Adam, now with a battlefield clear of civilians, morphed and charged the MelloBeast. 

But with only two Rangers against a multitude of Tengas and a monster, things weren't going well. Suddenly, a faint 'trumpet' call came from one side, and the Red Ranger called out, "Charge!" 

As the four other Rangers leaped into battle, Tommy told Billy and Adam, "Alpha said you guys needed some assistance!" 

"I'm gonna blow you Rangers away!" the monster bellowed as it ran towards them. Adam turned, annoyed, and spat out, 

"Oh, blow it out your---" he stopped himself as Kat grabbed his arm suddenly. 

"Watch the language," her gaze flickered briefly to a small knot of children, safely out of the way, watching the fight with eager eyes. 

"Sorry," Adam managed to deflect a strike from the MelloBeast as even more Tengas arrived to help. Things were _not_ going well at all, when a by-now familiar mist appeared. It solidified into the Amber Ranger, who leapt straight into the fight. 

"Whenever needed, I am here!" 

"Glad to have the help, Amber Ranger!" Tommy waved in greeting as the two of them charged the MelloBeast together. 

"Always, Tommy," A.R. replied. With the addition of the new Ranger, the MelloBeast was soon done for. 

"Who are you?" Tommy asked quietly as the Tengas fled and the Rangers stood with their strange ally. 

"A friend," Amber Ranger replied just as softly. "A friend no matter what." * * * 

"So that is how you do it," Zedd mused as he watched the Amber Ranger leave the others. As soon as she was alone, she collapsed to her knees. In a flash of light, she had returned to her human identity, all memory of what had just occured gone. Zedd had learned over the past week that Amber Ranger was almost a totally seperate person from their human form, neither knowing of the other's existence. 

"She morphs only to save the other Rangers," Rita confirmed his guess. "Never herself." 

"How to make that work to our advantage," Zedd considered several options. 

Rita glanced at something in a box next to her. " Perhaps, if she _knew_ she was the Amber Ranger, she could control the morphing, and if we already controlled _her_. . ." 

"Perfect!" Zedd crowed. "This will be perfect! Amber Ranger _will_ be _ours!_" 

"I can't wait to see her destroying the Rangers!" Rita cackled in anticipated triumph, joined by her husband's foul laughter. * * * 

Azure looked around the park; she couldn't believe she'd lost Aura. The younger sister had tripped over a tree root, but Aura had kept going. Azure didn't blame her, though, she'd seen the telltale signs of pain on Aura's features that meant another one of her headaches had begun. When one of those things tore through Aura's head, she was lucky to remember her own name, much less to stop for her sister. 

"Azure?" it came from behind her. She whirled, half in surprise, half ready to fight, only to see Adam and Billy, standing there, with matching concerned expressions on their faces. 

"Oh, Adam," she smiled a touch. She really did like him a lot. "Have you seen either Aura or my purse? I've lost both of them!" 

Adam shook his head, then glanced behind her. "There's Aura, at least," he told her. She looked where he was to see Aura, leaning against a tree, her eyes closed and sweat dripping from her forehead. Azure rushed to her side, a motion echoed by Billy. 

"Aura?" she whispered softly. "Aura, are you all right?" 

"Not really," the elder girl replied. "This is the worst one I've ever had. Ever." 

"I'm getting you home, now," Azure stated. "Come on, Adam, Billy, I need some help." 

Aura didn't protest as they helped her back to the Robinson house. Indeed, she barely spoke at all, not even when Billy placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, then went on to his house after seeing her safely asleep. 

"I need to go back to the park," Azure told Adam as they left Aura to her rest. "I left my purse there and have to find it." 

"I'll go with you," Adam offered. "Maybe we could take a walk afterwards?" 

Azure considered that for a moment, then nodded. She would like company, especially if it were Adam who was the company. Together, they headed for the park. * * * 

"Found it!" Azure snatched up the bag and slung it over her shoulder. 

"Good," Adam smiled; oh, he had a beautiful smile. Azure sighed a touch to herself, wondering just what sort of fate was laid out for her and her sister that they would fall in love with two such wonderful guys. "Ready to go for that walk now?" 

Azure nodded, glad to have some quiet time at last with him. She'd been avoiding discussing something with him all that week; now maybe she'd finally have the chance. As they walked through the park, she searched her mind, trying to figure out just how to say what was on her mind. 

"Azure," Adam's speaking of her name startled her out of her thoughts. 

"Yeah?" she asked. 

"Want to go to a movie this weekend?" he hadn't asked her out in a week; she hadn't let him ask her out! 

"Sure!" she nodded. "Hey, they're showing a revival of 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' at the University Cinemas, we could go there!" 

Adam smiled. "Sounds great me to me!" 

"Coolness!" Azure giggled in joy; forget what she'd wanted to talk to him about, it was just too much fun being his girlfriend to worry about. 

"It's going to be great," Adam hugged her. "Doing anything with you is!" 

Azure took a deep breath. "Same here." She looked up into his dark eyes. "So, anyone special in your life, Adam?" 

His eyes met hers firmly, without flinching. "Not until now." 

A blush stained her cheeks as she replied, "I Never thought I could feel this way about someone." 

"Neither did I," was Adam's reply. She looked up at him. . .would he object? Oh, what did it matter? She leaned closer and kissed him. He held still for a startled moment, then kissed back. With the uninjured arm she held him, her eyes and his both closed, aware only of each other's lips and the love transmitted between them. 

"Ah-hem," it was said almost precisely like that. Neither of them noticed, until the same voice spoke again, slightly louder. "Excuse me!" 

They jumped apart to see Tommy standing near them, chuckling to himself. "Woah, Tommy!!" Adam was just as startled as Azure, if not more so. 

"oh, man!" Azure was beet-red with embarassement. 

"What are you doig here?" Adam demanded. 

"Just passing through!" Tommy was plainly doing his best not to laugh. 

"Keep on passing then!" Adam, who seldom lost his temper, was on the verge of it at the moment; he'd never liked having his few romantic moments interrupted. 

"Okay!" as Tommy passed out of sight, they could hear his unleashed laughter. 

"That was so embarrassing!" Azure groaned. Adam wrapped an arm around her. 

"He's gone now," he reassured her. 

"Where were we?" Azure grinned impishly. 

"Right about here," Adam leaned back into the kiss the White Ranger had so rudely interrupted. Five minutes later, they finally came up for air. "Woah," was all Adam was able to say. 

"That was awesome!" was Azure's comment. She bit her bottom lip, a smile touching her eyes. 

"What is it?" Adam asked, hoping he hadn't somehow offended her, though after that kiss he didn't see how that was possible. 

"I'm still trying to recover my composure from that kiss!" was the pleasant reply. 

"So am I," Adam smiled at her. "It was indescribable!" 

"Then why try?" Azure suggested as she leaned against him. * * * 

Rita's vile cackle sounded throughout the Lunar Palace. "This is going to be the best plan ever, Zeddy!" 

"Yes," Zedd agreed. "Rito! Take a squad of Tengas down to Earth and kidnap Aura Robinson! And don't mess this up!" 

"Right away, Ed!" Rito nodded, teleporting to Earth in his usual style. * * * 

Aura stretched, opened her eyes, and sat up. The sheer relief of one of her headaches easing was almost the pain of the headache itself. She glanced around; she thought she remembered Azure going somewhere with Adam, but with the way her head had been pounding earlier, she could have heard just about anything. 

Time for a walk of her own, she decided. She needed fresh air and sunshine to clear the cobwebs, and she wasn't getting those indoors. She headed outside, hoping to catch sight of Billy, maybe even go for a walk with him. 

She stood just outside the front door for a few moments, eyes shut, enjoying the warm light and cool breeze on her skin. She hummed under her breath, truly at peace. 

"Hello, there!" an odious stench and a harsh voice did _not_ contribute to her good mood. Her eyes flew open to see a group of the hideous bird-things and a thing that looked like a pile of badly stacked bones painted in camoflauge colors standing before her. She jumped back, her heart pounding. 

"Who are you?" she managed to ask; though she didn't particulary care to hear the answer. 

"Your new roommate!" the bone-thing cackled, somewhat stupidly, somewhat evilly. Aura reacted as any normal seventeen-year-old would under the circumstances: she screamed and turned to run. Before she could get a step away, though, talon-like hands seized her by the arms and wrists. 

"Oh, man!" Aura turned to see Adam and Azure coming up the street. She couldn't let this thing get them, too. 

"Adam, Azure, get out of here!" she screamed. 

"Not without you!" Adam leaped straight into the fight, knocking down three of the Tengas in a heartbeat. Aura struggled to the best of her ability, but they had a firm grip on her. "Let go of me!" she insisted in vain. 

"Adam!" Azure screamed his name. The time for secrets was over. "Why don't you just _morph_ and help my sister?!!?" 

Adam stared at her, his eyes wide and mouth open. "Azure!?! What!? How?!" 

"I saw you morph," she admitted at last. 

"We'll talk later," Adam turned back to the battle, trying to get to Rito. 

"Too late, Ranger!" Rito laughed, disappearing with the Tengas that held Aura tightly in their grasp. 

"NO!!" Azure screamed. "Aura!" Adam came over to her, looking somewhere between anger and confusion. 

"How long have you known, Azure?" he asked softly. 

"Since the day before Jason and the others came back," she said dully, just as Billy came out of his house. 

"What's going on here?" he asked as he came closer to them. "I was in my lab, and heard a lot of shouting." 

"Tengas, Rito," Adam reported softly. "They took Aura." 

Billy glanced at Aura, who had sunk to the ground and was staring at the weeds. She muttered, "It's my fault!" 

"Don't say that, Azure!" Adam knelt next to her. "It's not your fault!" 

"I should have told you earlier that I knew," Azure leaned against him. 

"That doesn't change anything," he hugged her fiercely. "Come on, we've got to find her!" 

Billy shifted nervously, glancing at Azure, then back at Adam. "Um, Adam?" 

Adam glanced at his friend, then at Azure. He whispered quietly to Billy that Azure knew their secret. Billy accepted the knowledge easily; it was plain to both of them he was more worried over Aura than over who knew they were Power Rangers. "Let's get to the Command Center," was his decision. * * * 

Aura's blood ran cold with fear as she was brought before an odd-looking woman with a cone-shaped headdress and something that looked more or less like a skinless man seated on a hideous throne. 

"Welcome, Aura Robinson, to your new home," the skinless thing's voice deepened the fear in her. "I am Lord Zedd, your new master." 

Aura found herself fighting the Tengas holding her as much as she fought the panic that threatened to well up inside of her. "Never! I'm no one's servant!" 

"I don't think you have much of a choice!" he stood up from his throne and came closer to her. 

"What do you want with me?" Against her will, a thin tremor of fear crept into her voice. 

"To control you," was the hideous reply. 

"Me?" Aura's eyes widened. "Why me? I'm nothing!" 

"That's where you're wrong," Zedd stepped even closer to her. 

"Get away from me," Aura warned, backing away as best she could before the Tengas tightened their grip and held her still. 

"I'm sure you'll change your mind," Zedd promised her. He reached out, his silver-taloned hand closing on her necklace. A moment later, he dropped it, yelping in unexpected pain as it burned his hand. 

"What?!" he snarled. "Goldar!" 

Aura glanced down at the amber pendent circling her throat; it was still cool as it had been throughout her life, but obviously that wasn't the case for Zedd. "It never did that before," she mused. Her thoughts were interrupted as an all-too-familiar figure came to Zedd's command. 

"Ah, well, if it isn't the stupid human! Did I hurt your sister enough?" Goldar snarled. 

"Touch my sister or anyone I love, and I'll tear your tin-plated hide to shreds!" Aura swore. 

"I'd like to see you try!" Goldar challenged. Aura leaped at him, only to be knocked aside by his huge sword. She scrambled to her feet, determined to win this fight. That determination, however, was no match for Goldar's sheer size, skill, and strength. It didn't take long for Aura to be laying on the floor at Goldar's feet, too hurt to move. 

"You are a stupid human," Goldar told her, raising his sword for the final blow. Aura managed to spit out a reply. 

"At least. . .I'm not ugly. . .like you!" 

Goldar shook his head, and started to bring the blade down. 

"Stop!" Zedd ordered. "I have plans for this one!" Goldar stepped aside as Zedd had the Tengas drag Aura to her feet. 

"Go ahead and kill me," Aura heaved the words out. "I'd rather die than have anything to do with you!" 

"We'll see about that!" Zedd raised his staff and a beam of clear blue light poured out from it into her, healing the injuries she'd acquired at Goldar's hands. Aura blinked, wondering why he'd done that. "It is time!" Zedd's voice startled her, it was so very close. 

"Let me go!" she barely had time to cry as he fastened something around her neck. Her mind went dark for a moment, then cleared as she heard her master's voice. 

"Arise, my slave!" 

"What do you wish of me?" Aura, slave of Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa, asked. "I wiill obey!" 

"Destroy the Rangers!" Zedd ordered, raising his staff again, infusing her with power and strength beyond that of a human. 

"As you command, master!" * * * AZURE ROBINSON, THE KNOWLEDGE WHICH YOU HAVE MUST BE KEPT A SECRET, BUT I STILL DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY YOU DID NOT TELL THE RANGERS EARLIER. Zordon looked down at the girl standing in the Command Center. She was so worried about her sister, as were all the Rangers. Billy was already searching for Aura, occupying himself with his work. 

"Why _didn't_ you say anything?" Kat asked. Azure hadn't been too surprised to learn who the other Rangers were; she'd only been sure of Adam, but had suspected the others as well. 

"I don't know," she replied finally. "Part of me wanted to, but part of me was scared to." 

Adam put an arm around her carefully. "Well, we know you know now, and you know we know. But what we've got to do now is find Aura. Do you have any ideas on why they might have taken her?" 

Azure shook her head. "Besides her being friends with us?" Tommy wondered. 

"I guess they think that's a reason," Adam shrugged. They discussed various reasons for a few minutes, til a triumphant shout from Billy broke the near-silence the Command Center had fallen into. 

"I found her! Bringing it up on the viewing globe now!" 

They all crowded around the globe, expecting to see Aura in some dungeon or evil dimension. What they did not expect was what they saw. 

"What the heck is she doing?" Adam wondered. 

"It looks like she's leading the Tengas in a battle!" Aisha stared. Tommy shivered a bit, remembering what it had been like for him under Rita's control. 

"What kind of a spell do they have her under?" he wondered. 

Adam shook his head. "I don't know, but we're going to break it!" he glanced around. "Hey, where's Azure?" 

Billy looked around as well, then checked the controls. "She teleported out!" 

"Hope she can stay out of trouble," Adam was worried, but he also knew his duty as a Ranger. "Let's go get Aura!" 

"Let's do it!" Tommy nodded sharply. "It's Morphin' Time!" * * * 

The Aura the Rangers saw as they teleported to the park was most definitly not the same Aura who was their friend and neighbor. She wore a black bodysuit similiar to the Rangers' own uniforms, her pendent gleaming on the outside of it, along with a hood that concealed all but her cold eyes. As she sent people screaming from her terrifying attack, the Rangers appeared. 

"Aura, you've got to stop this!" Billy cried out as soon as he was solid. 

"Oh? Who's going to make me stop?" Aura's voice had deepened a trifle, and had a definite evil edge to it. It made Billy's skin crawl to think this was the same young woman whom he had last seen bent double with a racking pain in her head. 

"We are!" Tommy declared. 

"Oh, right," Aura laughed. "You, the invincible Power Rangers!" 

"Aura, this is not you!" Adam pleaded with her. 

"Oh, but it is me," a low, rippling, evil laugh. "There's just more to me than you knew!" 

"You are _not_ like this, Aura!" Billy attempted reason. "You're under a spell!" 

Aura laughed, then a moment later lashed out at the Blue Ranger with a powerful uppercut. Billy blocked her, but that left him open for a devestating kick. He doubled over in pain, and Adam, along with the other male Rangers, winced in sympathy. 

"That had to hurt!" Adam murmured. "Aura, what would Azure say about this?" 

When Aura paused for a moment, he thought he'd gotten through to her. That changed when she casually remarked, "What do I care?" and charged him. The fight continued for several minutes, with neither side truly gaining the upper hand. 

Things were slowly shifting towards Aura and the Tengas' favor when Goldar appeared suddenly. He looked at Aura disdainfully; it was plain he had no love for his master's newest slave. "Lord Zedd wants you back on the moon!" 

Aura halted her attack at once, with only a quick extra kick at Billy. "Have fun with them!" she wished him as she teleported away. 

Moments after her departue, a creature appeared that looked as if it had been made of a deck of playing cards! "I am Stacked Deck, and I'm gonna deal you some serious trouble, Rangers!" it proclaimed. 

"That's what you think!" Tommy challenged it. As the battle began, the Black Ranger had but one thing to say. 

"Man, this day went from excellent to horrible!" 

The fight went even worse after the monster's arrival, for the Rangers. Things were looking bad. "Where's A.R. when you need them?" Kat groaned as she was thrown back yet again by the monster. 

"Greetings, Rangers!" it was the Amber Ranger! As Rocky landed against a tree near the strange warrior, he waved as best he could. 

"Good timing!" 

"As always," Amber Ranger's axe appeared in their hand, and shortly afterwards, Stacked Deck fell into shreds. The Amber Ranger glanced at the others. "I must go now, Rangers. Farewell." 

"A.R.," Billy interjected; he'd recovered enough to help in the fight. "We need your help with something." 

"Yes?" 

"A friend of ours was kidnapped by Rita and Zedd," Tommy approached the strange Ranger carefully. "Could you help us track her?" 

"I will search for her in my own fashion, Tommy," Amber Ranger replied. "I believe I can find her faster on my own." 

"Any help is a blessing. Thank you," Billy nodded gratefully. 

"As I have said before, I live to help," a moment later, nothing but amber mist remained, which quickly dissipated in the cool winds. 

"Let's get back to the Command Center," Tommy sighed. It had been a long day, and didn't promise to be any shorter before all this was settled. 

Adam nodded. "I want to see if I can find where Azure went." * * * 

Aura stood before Zedd, basking in his praise of her efforts. "Well done, my little slave!" 

"I live but to serve you, sire," she bowed. "You command and I obey!" 

Zedd nodded, then threw a hideous glance at Rito and Goldar. "Unlike you two!" 

"We did more damage than she did to the rangers!" Goldar protested. 

"Enough!" Zedd cut off any arguments before they could get started. "The Rangers _will_ be defeated, and soon!" 

Aura's laugh was as cold and wicked as theirs. "They have no idea what's in store for them!" 

"And the earth will be ours to destroy!" * * * 

"How are you feeling, Billy?" Adam asked. "Aura kicked you pretty hard." 

"I'll live," Billy assured his friend. 

Tommy leaned against a console, his helmet against his knee. "I hope A.R. can help Aura, she fights dirty." 

Billy winced in agreement, as Aisha stated, "What I want to know is where Azure is." 

Adam nodded. "It is a little odd." 

"I'm running a scan on Angel Grove," Alpha reported. "I found her! She's in the park; do you wish me to teleport her here. There's no one else around to see." 

Adam nodded. "Please do." 

"Locking on," A moment later, Azure fell somewhat unceremoniously to the floor of the Command Center. 

"Sorry about that," Adam helped her up, careful not to touch the arm she'd injured. 

"It's okay," Azure winced a bit as she got to her feet. 

"So, where'd you go?" Adam asked gently. 

She shrugged a bit. "I needed my medication, and I needed time to think. . .about everything that just happened." 

Adam glanced at the others a bit nervously; he knew they were all thinking the same thing. He quickly caught Azure up on the news, on how the fight had went, and on the request they'd made of the Amber Ranger for help. 

"Did they say they would?" 

Adam nodded. "We don't know much about A.R., but they seem to want to help. We'd like to know who they really are." 

Tommy finally asked just what was on their minds. "Azure, question," as soon as she was looking at him. "Are you the Amber Ranger?" 

Azure actually laughed. "Do you think if I _were_ a Ranger of any type, I'd just be sitting here waiting for you guys to get Aura back?" 

Adam looked helplessly at her for a moment. "Well, A.R. showed up close to the same time you and Aura did, and we've never seen either of you and them at the same time. . ." 

"I think I'd remember if I were A.R.," Azure said dryly. 

Adam nodded again. "I'd think it might be Aura: if she weren't under Zedd's control right now. If she were A.R., we'd know about it." 

Alarms sounded suddenly and the Rangers turned as one, with Azure, to stare at the viewing globe. "She's back," Adam muttered. "Looks like the Youth Center parking lot!" 

"Oh, man, that's my truck!" Tommy groaned. "She's tearing the thing apart! Back to action!" * * * 

Aura had never had this much fun in her life. Her nails were more like claws now, and she used them to tear out the upholstery in Tommy's truck. Having once been their friend, before her master had chosen her for his service, she knew just where to hurt them the most. Tommy was so proud of this vehicle; soon it would just be scrap metal. 

"Aura!" the Rangers had arrived. She leaped out of the truck to stand before them, a viscious, though unseen due to her mask, grin spreading across her face. 

"That's my truck!" Tommy stared at her 'remodeling' job. Aura casually flattened a tire. 

"It _was_ your truck," she informed him. "Now, it's trash!" 

"My parents are gonna kill me for this one!" Tommy barely noticed Aura jumping towards him, spinning into a devestating kick to his knees. 

"Not if I do first!" she promised silkily. The Rangers were at a serious disadvantage in this fight; they didn't really want to fight her. But she had no such inhibitions; they were the enemy and that meant war! 

"Aura, please, you must stop this!" it was the Blue Ranger. She streaked towards him, her hand fastening around his throat in a heartbeat. What a fool he was; he hadn't even tried to get out of the way! 

"I. . .," Billy strangled to get the words out, but her grip tightened even more. The other Rangers were occupied with Tengas Zedd had sent down; they couldn't interfere with her battle. 

Adam saw what was going on, and couldn't believe his eyes. "Aura! No, don't!" 

Aura threw Billy into a wall, with all of her magically-augmented strength behind it. "Why not?" 

"I. . .love. . .you," Billy collapsed into unconsciousness. 

The words hit Aura's spell-bound mind like a lightning bolt. She stared at where he lay, eyes wide suddenly. She reached up, her hands working automatically, and unfastened the hood, pulling it down so the others could see her face: and see the tears that streamed down her cheeks. "Billy?" 

It was not the cold, hard-edged voice they had heard only moments earlier. The look on her face was gentle, tender, and filled with horror at the sight before her. 

"Alpha, teleport Billy back to the Command Center," Tommy ordered from behind her. Aura couldn't even be surprised at who the Rangers were; she knew who they all were now, but everything faded to insignificance as she watched Billy vanish. 

"Are you okay?" it was Adam, coming to stand next to her. She turned to him. 

"Adam? What have I done?" her voice shook; how could this have all happened? 

"Hey, it wasn't you, it was the spell," Adam tried to reassure her. His eyes widened suddenly, and Aura had the strange feeling someone was behind her. That was proven when Goldar seized her by the arms. 

"You're going back to Rita and Zedd," he snarled, pulling her away from Adam's grasping hands. A moment later, they were both gone. Adam swore foully as his hand closed into a fist over where Aura's arm had been a moment earlier. 

"I saw her, we all did," Tommy said, putting an hand on Adam's shoulder. "For a few moments, she was out of their spell." 

"But she probably won't be when we see her next!" Adam was near tears himself, they had been so close to having her back! 

"How did it happen?" Rocky wondered. 

Adam glanced at the wall where Billy had lain after she threw him. _True love. _* * * 

This time as Aura fought, she had the extra-strength they'd given her to fight the Rangers on her side. She was going through Tengas like fire through dry grass. 

"I almost killed Billy!" she cried, more to herself than to anyone else. "How could I?!" 

"You will do as I command!" Zedd roared, half-rising from his throne in his rage. "Someone shut her up so I can regain control!" 

Goldar rushed up, eager to fight her again, but it wasn't that easy this time. Aura met him with a devestating double spin kick to his knees and other areas that sent him reeling and squeaking in pain an octave higher than he usually did. 

"You little. . ." he swung his sword at her, only to find Aura was already gone, leaping up and over him to deliver a punch to his neck. Most of the damage she could've caused was prevented by his armor, but it was the fact she'd dared to strike him that enraged Zedd's warrior. Their battle raged all over the throne room, and this time, it was Aura who had the victory. 

She stood, feeling vindicated, barely noticing Zedd raising his staff and aiming it at her. She did, however, notice when the blast of evil magic hit her dead on. Aura screamed in agony as Zedd's will fought with hers. "I nearly killed Billy!" she struggled to keep herself free, a terrible burning pain searing her mind and heart. "I will not do that again!" 

"I don't think you have a choice! " Zedd snarled. He increased the power of the spell, and Aura's pain-filled cry echoed throughout the palace. Finally, she crumpled to the floor, no longer able to resist as the controlling magic overwhelmed her. 

Rita watched the proceedings with an interested gaze. As Aura once more fell under Zedd's spell, the evil sorceress spoke. "I don't understand how she could've broken free in the first place." 

"Neither do I!" Zedd stared balefully at the girl before him, trapped in a spiral of pain. Her eyes opened a few moments later, and once more were filled with evil and wickedness. 

"Not that it matters," Rita shrugged. "She's ours again now." 

"Aura," he called her name and she at once dropped to one knee before him. "Renew your vows of service to me, girl!" 

"I serve only you, Lord Zedd, now and forever. I humbly beg your forgiveness for disobeying you, and swear on my life it will never happen again. I am your loyal and faithful slave: forever." 

Zedd nodded his approval. "Now go and rest; it will do me no good to have my prized warrior weak in battle; we attack the Rangers again soon!" 

Aura went to the small room they'd set aside for her and fell into a deep sleep at once. Though when she awoke she didn't remember it, her dreams were filled with grief and sorrow for what she'd done to Billy: who she loved and had nearly killed. * * * 

The Rangers watched as Alpha took care of Billy. It was obvious Aura hadn't done nearly the damage she was capable of. Adam paced up and down nervously. "We need someway to free Aura." 

"For a brief moment, she was, but how did it happen?" 

"Looked to me like it was when Billy said he loved her," Rocky suggested. 

"True love," Adam said aloud what he'd thought before they'd left the youth Center after the last battle. He glanced at Azure, whose whole face lit up at that. 

"If that's what it takes, then maybe. .. just maybe," Azure spoke softly to herself, but Kat's keen ears heard her. 

"Azure, what are you thinking about?" 

"If Billy's not awake, I'd like to go with you the next time theyu send her into Angel Grove," Azure declared. 

All the Rangers stared at her. "Azure, she almost killed Billy; I don't think she'd hesitate to do the same thing to you!" 

"I don't care," Azure stated flatly. "She's my sister, we protect each other. If her love for Billy and vice versa was what broke the spell before, why wouldn't our love for each other do the same? It's a risk I'm willing to take." 

"And if Billy is awake?" Tommy asked. "Do you still want to come then?" 

Azure nodded firmly. "Yes. I have to try." 

"NO!" Adam objected. "Azure, I can't let you do this!" 

Azure laughed humorlessly. "Like you have much of a choice. I figured out how to teleport out of here once, and I can do it again!" 

"And probably get yourself killed!" 

"I can't live without my sister!" Azure snapped. "Don't ask me to try, either!" 

Adam threw his hands up; he knew when he'd been beaten. "You'll go no matter what, at least if we're there, we can protect you." 

A light groan from the examining table where Billy lay brought all their attention back to him. "Billy?" Adam said his name softly. 

"What. . .Aura. . .no," Billy's voice was harsh from the near-throttling Aura had given him. 

"Shhh, Billy, don't try to talk. She almost choked you to death," Adam tried to sooth him. "For a few moments, Aura was free, Billy." 

"We think you broke the spell, your love for her," Tommy told him. 

"And hers for you," Rocky added. "But. . .Goldar came and took her back to the moon." 

Billy shut his eyes as Rocky spoke the words the Blue Ranger had hoped not to hear. "No. . ." 

Adam tried to give hope. "But it gave us a clue. Love is what broke it, and. . .," he glanced at Azure. "Azure wants to see if Aura can help break it oermanently." 

Billy managed to sit up. "You can't let her go, it's too crazy!" his voice almost broke down as he taxed it. 

"I go whether you want me to or not," Azure told him. 

"We're going to be going with her," Adam said. "Whenever Aura comes back to Earth." 

Hours passed, while Billy rested and the other Rangers hashed out various plans and alternate methods of spell-breaking in case the power of love wouldn't work. Suddenly, alarms went off. "She's back." 

Azure stood up. "What are we waiting for?" 

Tommy looked over at Billy. "You feel up to this?" 

He nodded. "Yeah, I am. I have to be." * * * 

Aura was in Angel Grove Park again, quite literally trashing the place as she ripped into the recycling bins that lined up along the sidewalk. The people had cleared out the moment she and the small army of Tengas with her had arrived, so the Rangers and Azure had the place to themselves for their attempt at recovering her. 

"Aura, please, don't!" Azure cried out, her heart breaking to see Aura's actions. 

"Don't what?" Aura lifted a bin and threw it straight at Azure. "Do things like that?" 

Adam managed to knock it aside, as Azure stepped around him to get closer to her sister. "Please, I love you, Aura! You're my sister!" 

Aura grabbed Azure and dragged her closer to her. "I serve Lord Zedd, that's all that matters!" 

Azure stared into Aura's ice-cold eyes. "Aura, please. . ." Something caught her eye suddenly, something that was different. "What the. . ." 

She didn't have time to examine what she'd seen, though, as Aura threw her into a tree. "Please, what?" Aura mocked her. "Make your death swift?" 

"Remember. . .that's all I ask," Azure whispered. Adam went over to help her up as Aura attacked Tommy and Rocky together. 

"You okay?" he asked. Azure nodded and started to tell him what she'd seen, when Aura launched an attack on Billy. 

"Didn't the last time we tangled teach you anything, Ranger?" she spat as she kicked and punched at him. 

"How much I love you," he told her gently, defending himself without hurting her. 

"Pity," she snarled. "It should've taught you to fear me." 

"I will never fear you." 

"Oh, but you will," she promised, a firmness in her voice that almost did make him afraid. * * * 

Zedd and Rita watched the battle, and as Aura tore into Billy, Zedd laughed. "This is perfect!" 

"This is almost as much fun as destroying the Rangers ourselves!" 

Zedd considered something. Aura was such a perfect servant. . ."Rita, how would you like some more slaves?" 

"Ranger-slaves?" Rita asked eagerly. Zedd nodded, then spoke telepathically to Aura. _Aura, my slave. Give the Rangers this ultimatum: serve Queen Rita and myself: or die!_ * * * 

"Man, I wish A.R. was here!" Adam groaned as he rested briefly from Aura's viscious attack. "We could sure use their help!" 

Aura paused for a moment, tilting her head as if listening to something. "Rangers," she told them. "My masters are being generous with you. Serve them and you may live. Refuse. . .and you die!" 

"NEVER!" Tommy swore. 

The cold smile on Aura's face chilled them all to the bone. "Then I will enjoy killing you all." 

"Where's another Ranger when you need them?" Rocky wondered as Aura began to stalk Tommy, an evil glint in her eyes. 

_It is time! Reveal your true self, my Amber Ranger! _"As you command, my lord!" Aura stopped and cried out three words the Rangers had never expected to hear her say. "Amber Ranger Power!" 

"You're the Amber Ranger?!" Azure and the Rangers stared; this was unbelieveable! 

"Well, Rangers?" Aura laughed wickedly, the first emotion they'd ever heard from her in this uniform. "Still want to see the Amber Ranger?" 

"But-but you helped us!" Rocky stared in disbelief. 

"A trick of my masters!" Aura sneered. "And you fell for it!" 

The Rangers and Azure exchanged glances; they didn't want to belive it, but it was true. How long had she really been under their control, they wondered? How long had she been their enemy? 

"Well, Rangers? Your choices are easy, their offer still stands: surrender or die." 

Billy glanced at Azure and Adam and bit his lip. Then he looked over at Aura. And walked over to her. "I can't live without you, Aura. I love you. I'll join you." 

She smiled. "You prove your intelligence by choosing the winning side, Billy!' 

Tommy glared. "Billy! You can't!" 

"What do you think you're doing, Billy!" Adam yelled. Billy threw a glance at them, asking them to understand what he was doing, then looked back at Aura. 

"On one condition: Let me kiss you." 

"Why?" Aura raised an eyebrow. 

"I love you," Billy told her. "I will join you only if you demorph so I can kiss you." 

Aura considered. She had nothing to lose, and Zedd had everything to gain from a simple kiss. She demorphed and Billy came closer to her. Their lips met in a deep and true kiss. 

**The End**


	4. Restored Amber

**Restored Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

The Power Rangers stood in shock. What was happening just_ couldn't _be happening. Billy's oldest friend, Aura Robinson, who had only returned to Angel Grove just over a month ago, was standing before them as the Amber Ranger, their mysterious guardian and friend. But that was only the beginning of the surprises. Somehow, Zedd and Rita had gained control of Aura's mind, and now, at their command, she was demanding their surrender. And Billy,_ Billy_ of all people, was agreeing to it! He stood next to her, kissing her. 

"I love you, Aura," Billy told her, still holding her in his arms. 

Tommy took a deep breath, wondering if he was about to order his first attack on a Ranger that had been a friend and ally since his first days as the Green Ranger. 

Billy's hand flashed up to Aura's throat, seized the necklace there, and pulled hard, breaking the clasp and throwing it against a rock. "Power Lance!" he summoned his weapon and slashed down at the necklace, shattering the stone. 

He turned to Aura, who stood with her eyes wide and in shock. "Aura? How do you feel?" 

Aura shook her head as if to clear it, then saw Billy there. "Billy? Oh, Billy, you're alive, I didn't kill you!" 

"Yes, I'm alive, and you're safe again!" 

"I don't get it, what happened?" Rocky wondered. Azure and Adam came up next to Aura. 

"It was the necklace, wasn't it?" Azure didn't really seem to be asking. Aura nodded and was about to start explaining when Tommy asked her to wait. 

"We can discuss that at the Command Center," he told her. "And we have a lot to discuss." 

"Definitely," Aura sighed. Eight flashes of light: two white, red, yellow, blue, black, pink, and light brown, left the park and appeared at the Command Center moments later. Aura glanced around. 

"Where are we?" she wondered. 

"This is our headquarters, the Command Center," Tommy told her. "This is Alpha-5," he introduced her to the little robot. "And that's Zordon." 

Aura turned to see the floating head, and quite literally stared with a wide-open mouth. "Ummm... hi?" her voice quivered with nervousness. 

GREETINGS AURA, AMBER RANGER. Zordon smiled at her. 

"You know me?" Aura gulped. 

"He knows everyone, it seems!" Rocky grinned. Aura turned to Billy, trying to avoid looking at all the strange things around her. 

"Billy," she touched his arm. "I didn't say thank you properly back there, for freeing me." 

Before Billy could move, she pulled him into a long, deep kiss. "Thank you," she smiled. 

Billy stood, almost in as much shock as she was, then kissed her back. "You're welcome!" 

"Oh, they're getting mushy on us!" Rocky laughed. 

Tommy interrupted. "Aura, how did Zedd and Rita control you, exactly?" 

Aura settled against a console. "The necklace Billy broke. It's not... or it wasn't... my real necklace. The first time I was taken to the moon, I fought with Goldar... and lost. In the fight, the clasp came undone and the necklace fell off. Zedd put a different one on me: identical to mine in every respect except one." 

"The stone was a ruby, not an amber," Azure supplied. Aura nodded, a touch surprised. "I saw it when you grabbed me. I know that necklace like I know you, Aura, I knew it wasn't the real thing." 

Aura smiled. "You've always known me best, Azure. The ruby had a spell of control on it, that forced me to obey Zedd and Rita. I tried to fight it, but I couldn't win." 

"What about when you broke free?" Billy asked gently. Aura's eyes darkened for a moment in remembered pain. 

"It was when... when you said you loved me, I was able to overcome the spell. I was in shock from what I'd done to you, and from being taken back to the moon so fast, or else I would've taken off that necklace that second," Aura spoke quietly. A light grin flickered across her features. "I fought Goldar again, and won that time. But the minute I was done with the fight, Zedd put the spell right back on me. I resisted, but..." 

Her voice trailed off as she remembered the pain that had racked through her body as she'd fought with the spell: and lost. Tears sparkled in her eyes and fell gently down her cheeks. A moment later she found herself wrapped in Billy's arms. She leaned against him and for the first time in her life, cried herself out. 

The Rangers stepped apart for a few minutes, letting Aura release the pain inside her heart. When she stopped crying, Tommy asked gently, "Aura, could you tell us how you became the Amber Ranger?" 

Aura wiped her eyes, sniffed a little, then glanced around the room at her new friends. They weren't going to believe this. She herself hardly did. "That's kind of a strange story: because I don't exactly know." 

"What do you mean?" Aisha asked. 

"First, what does this date mean to you?" The date she named floored Billy, Zordon and Alpha. 

"That's the day Trini, Zack, Jason, Kim and I were chosen as Rangers," Billy breathed. 

"Same here, sort of," Aura shrugged. 

"Whoa," Rocky stared. "That's amazing." 

Aura continued. "About eleven in the morning, I had this strange sensation that Billy and some others needed me. I couldn't explain it. My head started pounding: it was the first of my headaches. I kept hearing these three words in my head over and over. I said them out loud, just to see if it would stop. And I changed into the Amber Ranger." 

"What three words?" Aisha asked. 

"It's morphin' time?" Billy suggested. Aura shook her head. 

"Amber Ranger Power. I was absolutely terrified, I didn't know what was going on, and the headache only continued. It was a good thing I was alone in the house. My whole body twitched, it was like I was supposed to somewhere, do something, but I couldn't do it; almost like something prevented me. I finally passed out, and when I woke up, I didn't remember anything about what had happened to me." 

"Was that the day we found you on the floor unconscious?" Azure asked. Aura nodded. "We always wondered what had happened, but you could never tell us." 

Aura smiled. "Now I know: and one more thing: the headaches I had happened whenever you guys were in a situation that you could have used my help. They were a signal of sorts that I was needed. Something stopped me from morphing anymore after that first time, I don't know what it was. The headaches got more frequent when I moved back to Angel Grove, since I was actually near when you morphed. Whatever stopped me from morphing ended when we first found out we were coming back to Angel Grove, I'm sure you noticed that." She grinned a little as the others nodded, then kept on with her story. 

"When I was the Amber Ranger, I remembered only that I was supposed to fight evil and to help the Rangers. I was aware of who you all were in your civilian identities, but the minute I turned back into myself, I didn't remember anything. It was like Aura and Amber Ranger were two different people, only Amber Ranger existed only to fight." 

"And now?" Tommy asked. 

"Now I remember both sides of me. I remember everything that happened as Amber Ranger, and when I'm the Amber Ranger, I remember everything that happened as Aura." Her eyes filled with pain as she remembered recent events. "It's been like that ever since Zedd put that necklace on me. Something, I really don't know what, I don't think it was being evil, broke some form of mental block that was on me." Her hand drifted to her throat, where her medallion had been. 

Azure noticed that. "Aura? Your real necklace, the amber one... where did it go?" 

Sorrow filled her voice as Aura spoke next. "Zedd and Rita. It's still on the moon." 

Tommy shrugged. "It's a small price to have you free," was his opinion. Only Azure and Billy saw the flicker of pain in Aura's eyes, but anything they were going to say was interrupted by Zordon. 

AURA, YOU NOW CONTROL YOUR POWERS KNOWINGLY. HOW DO YOU PLAN TO USE THEM? Zordon asked. 

Aura was taken aback. "I hadn't really thought about it." She looked at the others. "Would you - could I... I mean-" 

Tommy smiled at her. "Would you like to become one of us, Aura?" 

Aura nodded eagerly. "I want to protect people. It's... just something that woke up inside of me when Zordon asked what I planned to do. It must be from being the Amber Ranger. It's what I _do_. That's all there is to it." 

"Then we'd be glad to have you," Adam grinned. "Welcome aboard, Aura." * * * 

The next week was the most peaceful the Rangers had known in a long time. Aura hadn't had a single headache the whole time, not even when the Rangers morphed to test out her theory. This proved, to all of them, that now that Aura was fully aware of who she was as the Amber Ranger, the headaches ceased and were no more. That gave Aura at least as much relief as Billy's breaking of the necklace had. 

It was a week to the day that Aura had been freed, and she and Billy were walking down by the beach. They'd spent nearly every waking moment together the past seven days, once Aura had awakened from a solid twelve hours of sleep. She no longer had the enhanced strength, speed, and endurance that being under the spell's power had given her, and her body demanded rest. 

"Where are we going?" she asked Billy as they wandered hand in hand. 

"It's a special place," Billy smiled at her. "I come here when I want to think." 

He led her to the foot of Angel's Bluff. Aura looked around and sighed in joy. "This place is so beautiful," she smiled at the young man with her. Her heart was truly full. 

"I'm glad you like it," Billy smiled back at her. "There's something I'd like to do, but I need you to close your eyes first." 

Aura laughed, and closed her eyes. A moment later, she felt his lips on hers. She had sort of expected it, but it was still a wonderful surprise. She leaned into the kiss, enjoying and appreciating all she'd had to go through for it. 

A timeless moment later, the kiss ended, but for lack of breath, not lack of desire. "Aura, you are beautiful. Has anyone ever told you that?" 

"No one but you," Aura replied honestly. 

Billy looked at her, the gray-eyed woman he had known since his childhood, that he'd wondered and worried about through her headaches and captivity, that he'd helped to free. He had to say it, he couldn't keep it inside a moment longer. "I love you, Aura Robinson." 

Aura's cheeks were stained red for a moment, then she replied softly, "I love you, Billy Cranston. And always will." 

They stood hand in hand, watching the waves come up on the beach for what seemed to be forever. Billy noticed Aura's hand crept to her throat, where her amber necklace had been, and her eyes filled with tears. "They still have it, don't they?" 

Aura nodded. "If they haven't destroyed it." 

"I wish we could retrieve it," Billy sighed. "Maybe..." 

"Why can't we?" 

"It's too dangerous!" Billy told her. Aura wasn't taking no for an answer now, though. 

"Billy, that necklace is a part of me, a part of my _life_ I've never been without it until now: it's like there's a part of _me_ missing. I have to get it back!" 

Billy had come to know a side of Aura he'd never known existed over the past week, the part of her that was the Amber Ranger. Dedicated, driven, and definitely not used to hearing the word 'no' applied to her. "Okay, we'll go," he said finally. "Zordon's not going to like this, though." 

"We won't be gone long," Aura reminded him. "We'll just find it and leave at once." 

"All right," Billy sighed. "Let's do it." * * * 

The past week hadn't been quite so peaceful in the Lunar Palace. The Tengas had gone into hiding the moment the ruby had been shattered, knowing Zedd and Rita's tempers. In the week that followed, that had proven to be a wise decision, as anyone who crossed the two evil maniacs was at once blasted with a combination of verbal abuse and magical pain. 

"That blasted Blue Ranger will pay for destroying the Ruby of Control!" Zedd raged that day. 

"It was one of a kind! Priceless!" Rita moaned. 

"He shall pay!" Zedd promised. He paced back and forth in the throne room, thinking over several plans for having his revenge on Billy and Aura both. 

Both Rita and Zedd looked up suddenly as magical alarms they'd placed around the palace were activated. "Intruders!" Rita snapped. 

"Tengas!" Zedd ordered. "Get the intruders! Now!" 

"And bring them to us!" Rita added. * * * 

Aura and Billy materialized in the palace, hoping they'd managed to avoid detection. Everything seemed quiet as they crept through the shadowed corridors. 

"Where might it be?" Billy whispered. 

"Last I saw it, it was in the throne room. They could have done anything with it," came Aura's low-voiced reply. "I'm hoping it's still here to be found!" 

Billy glanced around, and suddenly grabbed Aura's arm. "Look out! Tengas!" 

The bird-warriors leaped towards them. "Billy, morph!" Aura called out as she rolled to one side. Billy grabbed for his morpher, only to have it knocked out of his hands by a Tenga. Aura started to call out her morphing words; she needed no morpher for some reason, when several Tengas overpowered her. Billy tried to reach her, but soon he too was a prisoner. * * * 

"So the Power Rangers have invaded my lair," Zedd gloated over the two prisoners. "What shall we do with them, my dear Rita?" 

Rita smiled wickedly at them. "The Blue and Amber Rangers... _just_ who we wanted to see! Fate smiles on us this day, my dear!" 

Zedd nodded. "So it does!" he glared at Aura. "Tell me, Amber Ranger, how would you like to redeem yourself and serve me again?" 

"Never!" was Aura's simple reply, along with a quick dissertation on Zedd's ancestry that didn't once mention anything remotely human. 

"You try my patience," Zedd hissed and raised his staff. A beam of light shot towards Aura; she tried to avoid it, but to no avail. "NO!" 

Billy stamped down hard on a Tenga's foot and ran towards Aura, intending on knocking her out of the path of the beam she currently writhed in. "Aura!" 

"Billy!" Aura reached out towards him, then suddenly stiffened. Emotion drained from her face and eyes. 

"What did you do to her, Zedd!?" Billy stared in horror at her. 

"Just a little personality transplant," Zedd chuckled nastily. "A rather nasty one." 

"You - !" Words failed Billy as he leaped at Zedd. Rito was there, however, and knocked him out with a powerful punch. Zedd laughed coldly and gestured towards Aura. 

"Lock him in a cell," he ordered. As Aura obeyed, Zedd looked down towards Earth, hoping for a chance to unleash his regained Amber Ranger on the others. He saw a perfect opportunity unfolding in the park. 

"Ah, so the young Black Ranger and his girlfriend are trying to enjoy a peaceful afternoon together!" he smiled evilly. 

"Well, we can't have that, now, can we?" Rita laughed. 

"Never! Go, my Amber Ranger, morph and destroy them!" he ordered. 

"Of course, my lord," Aura morphed and teleported down to Earth, once more only intent on serving her evil masters. * * * 

Azure and Adam walked through the woods, a little-known region that Adam had brought her to. "Man, this place is beautiful. I can't believe I've never been here!" 

"Some of the best places are hard to find," Adam grinned and put an arm around her. 

"As are some of the best people," Azure snuggled closer to him. Things finally seemed to be turning around for the better. 

"I know how you feel," Adam said. A moment later, a sarcastic voice said from behind them. "Oh, I think I'm going to be _sick!_" Azure and Adam turned around. 

"What?" 

"Do I have to repeat myself?" Amber Ranger leaned against a tree behind them, looking at them both. 

"Aura?" Adam looked at her. "What are you doing here? Morphed of all things!" 

"Doing what I do best, Black Ranger... destroying you!" 

"Not again!" Azure groaned. 

"Why not?" Aura came closer to them. "I'm at my best when I'm at my worst!" 

Adam grabbed for his communicator. "Guys, come in!" Only static responded. "Blast it, something's blocking the transmission!" 

Aura laughed coldly, sending shivers of fear through both of them. "My master will not let you call your friends... this is just between us!" 

"It's morphin' time!" Adam grabbed for his morpher. "Black Ranger Power!" 

Azure hid behind a tree and watched as her sister and boyfriend circled each other. "Time to die, Black Ranger," Aura hissed. 

"Man, how did Zedd get a hold of you this time?" 

"I've never stopped serving my master!" Aura laughed coldly. 

Adam stared. "What?! And where's Billy? What have you done with him?" Aura took advantage of his distraction to sweep in with her axe. 

"He's a prisoner of Lord Zedd and Queen Rita." Aura swept at him with her Axe. 

"What?!?!" 

"You heard me!" Aura's attacks were far more skillful than they'd been before; the training they'd put her through the past week had taken more of a hold than they'd thought. "This is the end for you, Black Ranger!" 

"I don't think so, Aura!" Adam blocked her with his own axe and the battle began in truth. Back and forth through the forest they raged, neither truly gaining the upper hand. 

"You're going to die, Ranger, and I'll be the one to kill you!" 

"This isn't you!" Adam flashed back to a week ago, when the same words had been uttered to the same person. 

"You've said that before!" Aura obviously remembered as well. "And you're wrong... dead wrong!" Her axe missed him by less than a hair's-breadth. 

"I wasn't wrong before!" Adam declared, dodging another deadly strike and aiming one of his own, which slid off her axe. "And I'm not 'dead wrong' this time either!" 

Aura raised her axe again, and as he raised his own to block, she kicked him hard in the stomach, knocking him into a tree, dazed. "Yes, you are!" 

"Adam!" Azure raced to his side, not noticing Aura coming after them, murder in her eyes and axe in her hand. 

"So, do you want to die together?" Aura growled. 

"Never!" Azure stood between her sister and Adam. "Adam, now would be a very good time to wake up!" 

Aura brought her axe down, then whirled it to one side, releasing it with one hand. With the other, she threw Azure to one side. "I'll deal with you later!" she hissed. 

Adam's eyes opened just in time to see Azure being thrown to one side and landing unconscious. "Azure!" he screamed. 

Aura's cold laughter was the only reply. "You're next, Ranger" 

"Man, where are you guys?" the Black Ranger wondered. His axe was off to the side, too far to reach, and Aura stood right next to him, her weapon in her hands. His eyes widened as she raised it over her head. 

"Wherever they are, you'll see them next in the afterlife!" 

"This can't be how it ends," he whispered as Aura's axe swung towards him at lightning speed. 

Metal rang on metal as a sword blocked her blow. Both of them looked up to see the Rangers there, all but Billy. Tommy, Saba outstretched between them, shook his head. "I don't think so! 

He knocked Aura away, then turned to Adam. "Zordon said you could use a hand." 

"Rangers!" Aura spat the word out. "Just had to interfere in my fun, didn't you?!?!" 

"Oh no, not again!" Rocky growled. 

"Girl, what is with you?!" Aisha asked. 

"Evil!" Aura replied, getting to her feet. Kat helped Adam up, saying, "We couldn't get a hold of Billy, but Zordon is going to keep trying!" 

Aura laughed. "Good luck! You'll need it to get to him!" 

"She said he was Zedd's prisoner," Adam reported. "They must have placed her under some kind of spell again!" 

Aura leaped towards them, axe upraised. "Time for talk is over, Rangers! Time to die!" * * * 

In the Lunar Palace, Zedd watched the battle. His Amber Ranger was such a fine warrior! He chuckled as Aura threw her sister to one side, then raised her axe to finish off Adam. 

"NO!" he roared in outrage as the Rangers teleported in and stopped the fight. He glanced over at Billy, who was sulking in his cell, and considered using him as a hostage. He looked back down at the fight, to see Azure unconscious and unnoticed by everyone. 

"This is perfect!" he crowed. He raised his staff and teleported Azure into the cell next to Billy. "With two hostages, the Rangers will be off-guard, unbalanced, and unable to stop me!" * * * 

Adam stared as Azure vanished suddenly in a flash of light. "Azure! No!" He could tell it wasn't a teleportation beam from the Command Center that had done it; it had to have been Zedd. 

Aura's familiar cold laughter echoed in his ears. "Lose something, Black Ranger? Or should I say... someone!?!?" 

Tommy growled, "This isn't happening! Aura, listen to me, you are _not evil!"_

"Wanna bet?" Aura charged Tommy, who just barely managed to block her with Saba. 

"Yeah, I'm sure!" 

Aura kicked Tommy in the knees, doing her best to get him down. "Well, I'm sure, too!" She challenged his assertion. "Sure that you're wrong!" 

Aisha and Kat managed to grab Aura from behind, holding the struggling Ranger. Rocky tried his communicator again. "Alpha? Come in!" There was no answer. He looked at the spitting, struggling Amber Ranger. "Tell us what Zedd did with Billy and Azure!" 

"Forget it!" Rocky received a powerful kick in a sensitive area. The Red Ranger crumpled, and squeaked, "Man, she's gotta stop doing that!" 

Aura laughed. "Why? It's so much fun!" 

_"That does it!" _Adam punched Aura in the stomach as hard as he could. For the first time, Aura seemed affected by the blow. "Ooof," was all she managed to get out. 

"Serves you right." He couldn't even look at her now. He went over to Rocky and helped his friend up. "You going to be okay?" 

"Yeah," Rocky's voice was still a touch higher than normal. "Eventually." 

"Good." Adam turned back to Aura, contempt and rage in his every movement. "Tell me what Zedd has done with Azure and Billy, or I'll punch you again!" 

"So?!" Aura kicked at him this time. Adam moved just enough so her foot landed on his thigh, then stalked closer to her. 

"Don't mess with me or my friends!" he warned her. "Especially don't interrupt my date!" 

Aura threw her head back and laughed. "Foolish love: it blinds you Rangers every time!" 

"That does it!" Adam headed for Aura. Tommy got in between them suddenly. 

"Man, you need to chill! Get back to the Command Center, now!" 

"That's right, little Ranger!" Aura cackled with evil glee as Adam teleported away, still fuming. "Run back to your Command Center!" 

The other Rangers turned to stare at Aura, who suddenly stiffened as Zedd's voice sounded in her mind. _Amber Ranger! Return to me!_

"Sorry, Rangers, but my master calls! But I _will _return!" She vanished out of Aisha and Kat's grip a moment later. 

Tommy sighed, then slammed Saba into the ground in frustration. "Back to the Command Center. I'm going to have a little chat with the Black Ranger!" 

Kat shook her head. "Didn't we go through all this about a week ago?" * * * 

As they teleported into the Command Center, Adam muttered, "Man, I'm in for it now!" 

Tommy marched over to him, pulling his white helmet off. "What was with you, Adam?" 

"I'm sorry," Adam sighed. "I just lost it." 

"I noticed. We_ all _did!" Tommy leaned against a console. "Aura's still one of us, man, that was totally uncalled for!" 

Adam hung his head. "I know." 

"I know you're upset over Azure being captured, we all are, but we'll get them all back." 

Adam demorphed totally, then turned to Tommy, anger still in his eyes. "I'm going for a walk." He teleported out of the Command Center. 

Aisha sighed. "I've never seen him like that before!" 

"He's acting almost like Azure was when Aura was with Zedd and Rita before." 

"You blame him?" Rocky wondered. 

"Not really," the White Ranger shook his head. "I blame Zedd and Rita for starting this in the first place!" * * * 

Azure slowly fought her way back to consciousness. A blurry pale face across from her began to clear up. "Azure?" she knew that voice. As the face came into focus, she saw Billy. 

"Billy?" she whispered his name faintly. "What happened?" 

"Something that shouldn't have," Billy sighed. He quietly told Azure what he and Aura had done. 

"What's with Aura, then?" she asked when that was done. 

"As near as I can figure from what Zedd bragged about, and the way she's acting, he implanted a false and evil personality over her real one." Billy had used his time in the cell to think over what had happened, and to try and think up ways around it. "She effectively isn't even the Aura we know and love. She's one of Zedd's servants who just happens to be named Aura and has her powers." 

Azure leaned against the back wall of the cell and cried when she heard that; there was just no other reaction she could have. "Billy, is there anyway to change it? To bring back _our_ Aura?" 

Whatever Billy's answer might have been was lost, as Aura teleported into the room in her now-familiar flash of brown light. The mist she'd dissolved into and out of before now was gone, as she controlled her powers now. 

"Aura," Azure whispered. Aura came over to them, helmet in hand, and a cold glint in her eyes. 

"Azure," Aura greeted her, but with no joy or pleasure in it. "Like your new home?" 

"This will _never_ be my home!" 

"Really?" Aura teased. "It's not like you're leaving or anything!" 

"Shove it!" Azure turned away from Aura. 

"Oh, I'm so hurt!" Aura's mocking laughter echoed in the chamber. "My baby sister's mad at me!" 

"Do you blame her?" Billy asked resentfully. 

Aura turned to look at him, and the hate in her eyes curdled his stomach. "No, actually, I blame _you!_ It was your idea to come here in the first place! This is all your fault, Blue Ranger!" 

Billy's face fell, and Azure was quick to speak. "If it's anyone's fault, it's Zedd's for doing this to you, Aura! And if what Billy said is true: it was _your_ idea to come here to find your necklace!" 

Aura ignored Azure, grinning maliciously at Billy's hurt expression. 

"Oh, did I hurt your feelings? Sorry... not!" Aura laughed coldly. "By the way, you might like to know Adam is quite upset at all this! Which will make him sooo much easier for me to get rid of!" 

_"Don't you touch him!"_

"Who's going to stop me?? Certainly not you two!" Aura turned to Billy. "Just remember, everything that's happened... it's all your fault!" 

Billy hung his head even lower. Azure whispered, "No it's not, Billy. Remember that, if nothing else." 

Aura still gazed at them, evil glinting in her eyes. "I do hope that cell's comfortable. Well, actually I don't, but-" 

She was interrupted as Zedd and Rita entered the room. "What a pleasant picture! A Ranger and a little chick in a cage!" 

Aura turned and bowed. "Just having a little fun with them, sires!" 

"That is quite all right," Zedd reassured her. "In fact, I think I shall join in! So, Billy, how does it feel to know there's nothing you can do to stop my Ranger from destroying your friends?" 

"Drop dead!" Billy snapped as he turned away, not able to listen anymore. 

"Oh, I don't think the little Blue Ranger likes me anymore! How sad!" Aura laughed mockingly. 

"He's not the only one!" Azure growled. 

"Oh, I've lost my sister too!" Aura threw her head back with evil laughter. "What heartache!" 

Zedd stared at Azure for a moment. "She might make an excellent punching bag for Goldar. What do you think, my queen?" 

"I do believe you're right, Zedd. He's been sulking ever since Aura beat him so soundly last week!" 

"Then so be it!" Zedd ordered. Billy turned, rage written all over his face. 

"You aren't doing anything of the kind!" he screamed. 

"Watch me!" Zedd called out. "Tengas! Take the little girl away; prepare her to fight Goldar in the arena!" 

Azure had seen Goldar, she knew what kind of a fighter he was, and Aura had told her of her own fights with the armored warrior. She broke down into tears, knowing she had no chance of surviving. 

Aura stood next to the cell, her eyes dark and shadowed suddenly. Billy stared at her. 

"Aura, don't let them do this to her!" 

Aura's face twitched with conflicting personalities, conflicting loyalties. Billy hadn't seen her after she'd attacked him earlier, when she'd overcome the spell of the Ruby Necklace, but from what the others had told him, she'd looked much like that. Hope leapt up in his heart. Her gray eyes lightened, turning from nearly black to their usual cloud-color. 

Aura took a step towards Zedd. Her right hand slipped behind her back, and Billy saw the Axe of Kalakan appear in it. Aura, pain in every syllable, spoke. "Zedd." 

"What is it, my Amber Ranger?" 

Aura dropped her helmet and leaped at him, the Axe upraised. "_Leave my sister alone!"_

Zedd raised his staff to block the Axe. Aura kicked at Zedd, swinging the Axe once more. Azure wept too much to notice how her sister fought for her, though Billy was watching, hoping that something would enable her to remain herself. 

Zedd raised his staff and a beam flowed towards her. "You will stop this foolishness, now!" 

Aura instinctively blocked the beam with her Axe. "No way!" 

"So be it!" Zedd roared. "Rito, get your bones in here now!" 

Aura blocked another spell-beam as Rito shambled in. "Yeah, what is it, Ed?" 

"Take that Axe away from her, or hold her still!" Zedd ordered, blocking a particularly nasty strike of Aura's. 

"You got it, Ed!" Aura's attention was so focused on Zedd she didn't notice Rito's approach, but she did notice it when his sword struck her Axe out of her hands. Aura growled, then head-butted Zedd, refusing to give up. 

Zedd backed off a few paces, then snapped, "Hold her!" 

Aura whirled, but not fast enough to prevent Rito from grabbing a firm hold on her. Aura screamed, "_No! Not again! Never again!_" She kicked and hit at Rito with all her might, but to no avail. Zedd raised his staff again, evil red light pouring into her. Aura shook her head, every particle of her being fighting against the spell. "No... no control... my sister..." 

"You won't be hurting her!" Zedd increased the power of the spell, trying to convince her to let her guard down so the spell would overcome her, restoring the false personality he'd implanted. 

"Can't let _anyone_ hurt her!" Aura screamed. She seemed on the verge of throwing off the false persona entirely; her need to protect Azure was overriding all of Zedd's magic. 

"She will stay in the cage then," Zedd finally relented. "But_ you will obey me!_" Rita raised her staff to join her power with his, and Aura collapsed under the onslaught of evil magic. 

Billy stared at them, then at Aura. "How could she have fought so strongly, Zedd?" Rita wondered. "The spell should've blocked off her memories of being related to that twit. If she doesn't remember her, how could she care for her?" 

"I don't know." Zedd was staring at Aura, who stood woodenly, her face blank and emotionless, emptiness in her expressive gray eyes. "There's something not right about her; that spell was designed to be unbreakable by a human. But she's been able to fight off its effects twice now!" 

Both of them ignored Billy and Azure, who wept silently in Billy's arms. "You'd better come up with some way to make sure she doesn't do it again!" Rita snapped. 

"She will not disobey," Zedd promised. "I've removed every memory she had concerning the Rangers except as enemies." 

"Come, let's plan our Ranger's next assault," was Rita's only reply. Zedd and Rita left, with Rito and Aura following. Azure sobbed, barely able to get her sister's name out, which she seemed to be saying over and over. 

"Shh, Azure, we'll find a way to get her back. Somehow." 

"She still fights them," Azure whispered. "She isn't giving up." 

"And neither will we," Billy nodded. "Her love for you wouldn't let her let them hurt you. There's still hope." 

"I pray you're right," Azure whispered. She wiped tears away, and began to hiccup. "Man, hic, I hate when this, hic, happens." 

Billy smiled a little. "It'll be all right. Somehow." 

"I believe you," Azure sighed. * * * 

Zedd stared down at the Earth. "Ah, the Black Ranger is alone! Amber Ranger!" 

"Yes, my lord?" Aura stepped closer to him. 

"Go down and destroy the Black Ranger!" 

Rita interrupted his orders. "What about the others? They're probably watching him at the Command Center!" 

Zedd thought things over for a moment, then, "I'll interfere with the Viewing Globe, crossing its receptors with a television station! They won't know what to think then!" * * * 

In the Command Center, Kat and Aisha were keeping an eye on Adam, while Tommy and Rocky ran scan after scan trying to find Billy, Azure and Aura. Suddenly, the viewing globe filled with static. "What the heck?" Kat wondered. "Oh, it's clearing up." 

She and Aisha stared as instead of Adam, the movie_ Labyrinth _began to play. Aisha exclaimed, "Alpha, what's wrong with the viewing globe?" 

Alpha turned to the globe. "Huh? I didn't know we got the Disney Channel! Oh, ay-yi-yi-yi, some wires probably got crossed. It'll take time to repair!" 

Tommy turned to look at the globe as the movie unfolded on it. "I hope Adam will be all right till we can get it fixed." * * * 

Adam walked along the edge of the lake, his thoughts filled with rage and sorrow mixed. He liked Aura, he really did, and he knew what was happening to her wasn't her fault. He was angrier at Zedd and Rita than he was at the Amber Ranger. "Why did this have to happen?" he wondered aloud. 

"Hello, Black Ranger," Aura's voice was even more emotionless than usual as it came from behind him. 

Adam turned. "Man, I am so not in the mood!" 

Aura raised her Axe. "I really don't care what kind of a mood you're in." 

"Where are Azure and Billy?" Adam asked yet again. 

"Where you won't find them!" 

Adam sighed. "Let me guess, you came here to either torment me or kill me, right?" 

"You're brighter than you look!" Aura raised her Axe, and light glinted on the edge of it. 

"Fine!" He grabbed for his morpher. "At least give me a fighting chance! It's morphin' time!" As he raised his morpher, Aura's Axe sliced down, cutting into his hand and causing him to drop it. 

"No way!" 

Adam swore and grabbed his bleeding hand. "Guys!" he called into his communicator; then saw it had been sliced into as well. "This is not good!" 

"Maybe not for you, but I'm having a fun time!" Aura laughed insanely as she began to chase him. Adam fled into the forest, Aura chasing after him. "Come here, little Ranger! My Axe wants to have a conversation with your blood!" 

Adam ran, dodging around trees and over streamlets, then dodged behind a tree, trying to catch his breath. He noticed his blood was leaving a fine trail for her to follow, and he knew also Aura wasn't going at full speed. He realized she was toying with him. She could've caught him at any time she wanted. 

"You can't hide from me, Ranger!" 

_She's right. My blood is giving me away. But I can try to outrun her. For now. _Adam leaned against the tree, thinking. _For Azure's sake, I'm gonna try and stay alive._

He ran again. Aura's voice followed him. "You can run. But you can't hide." 

Adam called over his shoulder. "Who says I'm hiding?" 

"Oh, keep running, Ranger! I'm enjoying the hunt!" 

Adam paused as he realized he was returning to the clearing where the whole chase had begun. "Man! I ran in a circle!" 

Aura was only a few steps behind him. "Yes, you did. A circle begins and ends at the same place. And this began with me drawing your blood!" 

Adam turned, his eyes extremely wide. His spirit rallied as he stared death in the face. "If I must die, then so be it. But at least give me the chance to defend myself in a fair fight one last time!" 

"Why should I?" Aura smiled wickedly. 

"I ask it as a last request!" Adam insisted. 

Aura considered. "Well. Since I'll kill you anyway, this might make it more fun. Go ahead, morph. Not that it will do you any good." 

Adam reached for his morpher, not taking his eyes off her for a second. He knew if she were herself, he'd trust her with his life and soul. But now... he dared not turn his back on her. "Thank you, Aura. Black Ranger Power!" 

"Drop dead," Aura said flatly. "Oh wait, that's what I'm supposed to make you do." 

The fight began. * * * 

The movie ended, and the viewing globe returned to the park, where Adam had been. The Rangers stared as they saw Adam lying on the ground. Aura stood over him, breathing hard, her Axe raised high over her head. "NO!" Tommy groaned. "You know the drill! It's morphin' time!" 

They teleported in, and Tommy once again halted Aura's attack with Saba. Aura used her free hand to knock Tommy aside. In a flash she'd seized Adam by the throat and dragged him closer to her. "If you want him to live, Rangers, you'll surrender, now!" 

Tommy's blood ran cold as Aura spoke. He glanced at the others, then at the imprisoned Adam. "Doesn't look like we have much of a choice." 

"Of course you don't. You never did," Aura almost purred in triumph. 

"Guys?" The White Ranger looked at the others. Rocky stared as Aura casually held his oldest friend hostage. 

"We can't let her kill Adam," was the Red Ranger's reply. 

"But we can't let Zedd and Rita win!" Aisha protested, as Aura's grip around Adam's throat tightened. 

"It's a no-win situation," Tommy sighed. "Kat, your vote?" 

The Pink Ranger could feel the evil that simply oozed from Aura. "You're right Tommy," she sighed helplessly. "We don't have a choice." 

"We'll surrender," Tommy told Aura. "Just let him go." 

"Once we're on the moon," Aura promised. "Not until." 

"Okay, let's go, then!" Tommy's mind hadn't stopped working on a way to get them out of this; they'd all be together in the palace, maybe Billy had an idea, or could come up with one... * * * 

Billy and Azure couldn't believe their eyes as Aura reappeared: with all the Power Rangers with her, and with a grip around Adam's neck that looked all but unbreakable. "Adam!" Azure cried out. 

"Oh, shut up!" Aura snapped. Azure fell back, tears in her eyes from the harshness in Aura's voice. 

Zedd entered the room. "Ah, I see you've brought me a gift, my Ranger!" 

"Yes, my lord," Aura nodded. "The entire team of Rangers! What do you wish done with them?" 

"Put them in the cell with those two," Zedd commanded. "Tomorrow they will face my finest warriors in the ring, and the Power Rangers will perish!" 

"How could you, Aura?" Azure screamed. 

"How can I?" Aura replied coldly. "Because that's what my master wants me to do, child!" 

The Rangers filed into the cell, then Aura threw Adam in after them and locked it. She stood a few feet away with Zedd, watching with icy eyes as Azure removed Adam's helmet and put his head on her lap. "Wake up Adam, please," she whispered. Adam moaned a little, as Billy checked him over carefully for injuries. Adam's Ranger powers were healing the wounds Aura had inflicted quickly, but she had done some serious damage to him. 

"These humans are so weak," Aura said disdainfully. "And they break so easily too!" 

"Come on, you've just gotta wake up!" Azure urged Adam, ignoring Aura's comments. The Black Ranger stirred a little, and opened his eyes. 

"How true," Zedd agreed with Aura. "And their emotions will be their downfall! Come, my Ranger, let them rest: they will need their strength for the arena tomorrow!" 

As Zedd and Aura left, Billy's tear-filled eyes followed the woman he loved. He wondered if they'd ever be left alone to live their lives in peace. He turned back to Azure and Adam. 

"I'm here Adam, shhh," Azure soothed the injured man. 

"How is he?" Tommy asked as the door to the prison area shut behind Zedd and Aura. 

"He'll live: for now," Azure reported. Aisha shook her head. 

"I can't believe Aura's doing this," she sighed. 

"Billy, just how did Rita and Zedd get a hold of you and Aura?" Tommy asked. As Billy explained what had happened, Tommy's eyes filled with disbelief and disappointment. Rocky was the first to speak, though. 

"For someone with an IQ as big as yours is Billy, that was stupid!" 

"That went beyond stupid!" Aisha lashed out. Kat didn't hesitate to give her opinion, either. 

"Would it have been so hard to just tell us?" 

Billy sighed, his gaze never leaving Adam. "I wasn't thinking. I knew I should have told you." 

Tommy nodded. "Yes, you should have!" 

Azure snapped suddenly, "Would you guys please stop bickering? This isn't helping anything!" 

Kat nodded. "Azure's right. We need to figure out a way to free Aura and get out of here, preferably in that order, too!" 

Billy looked over at Azure, then told the others what had happened earlier, when Zedd had threatened to let Goldar use Azure as a "punching bag". "Azure may be the key to breaking through that fake personality Zedd's put on Aura." 

"Good idea," Tommy nodded. "But just how do we do it? Any ideas?" His gaze swept the group, and was met with denial at every turn. 

"Someone want my opinion on this?" Azure interrupted. 

"You're just as much a part of this as any of us, Azure," Kat told her. "Of course we do." 

"I'm not sure I know how to, or can even break Zedd's hold on Aura, unless they send me into the ring first. There may not be a way for me to break it." 

Billy closed his eyes, reflecting on just what had happened earlier. "Hey, maybe it isn't Azure. But it might be how Aura_ feels_ about Azure." 

"What?" Azure's brow furrowed in confusion as she glanced down at Adam, who was just starting to seriously wake up. 

"She didn't start fighting the spell until they threatened you. Aura has always been the protective type, especially of you." 

"I don't follow you, Billy," Tommy was just as confused as the rest of them. 

"It's almost like there's a limit, only so much she'll let them do before fighting the control... and if we can somehow push them over that, without hurting Azure, that might free her completely." 

Tommy thought it over. "I don't like the idea of putting a non-Ranger into any kind of danger, but if it'll help break the spell... it's your call, Azure." 

"I don't like it either, but I don't know if Aura feels the same way about any of us except Azure." 

Azure considered. "I don't know. I want my sister back, but I don't stand a chance in that ring." 

"It's up to you," Billy reminded her. 

Kat had a thought. "What if they just shove us all in there at the same time?" 

Adam was slowly recovering his strength, and as his eyes met Azure's, the younger Robinson girl made her decision. "If they don't, I'll volunteer to go first." * * * 

Aura stood at the door to the prison region, her Axe in her hands. She could hear plainly what was being discussed in the cell. _Those foolish Rangers! To think she was anything other than her lord's chosen warrior, what fools they were!_

"Sires," she spoke suddenly. "Will I be facing the Rangers tomorrow in the arena?" 

Zedd looked up from his celebrating. "Goldar will face Tommy. I have not decided who shall face the others. Perhaps I will have Goldar deal with them all, unless my Ranger would like to join in the fun?" 

Aura thought it over. "Yes, I would." 

"So be it!" Zedd proclaimed. "After Goldar has beaten Tommy, you may crush the others." 

The Amber Ranger nodded her gratefulness to her lord, then something occurred to her. "Sire, I would prefer, if I may, to take them all on by myself, all at the same time. After all, I was the one who brought them in." 

"True," Zedd decided. "So be it, then!" 

"Thank you sire, I will not disappoint you in their destruction!" 

"You'd better not!" 

"I will not," Aura swore. She noticed Goldar standing near Zedd's throne, and looking very annoyed. She could tell he hated her for 'stealing' his place as the most favored warrior of the evil lord. She smiled slightly; the winged warrior would soon be in for even more disappointment as she destroyed the Power Rangers one by one. * * * 

The Rangers passed the night in fitful sleep, managing to communicate with Zordon and let him know what was going on, and what they were planning. They could teleport out of there whenever they liked; the only thing that kept them was Aura not yet being free. Zordon wished them luck and promised to keep a teleportation lock on them all, if the slightest thing looked like it was going wrong, they would find themselves back in the Command Center. * * * 

The next morning, Aura was about to start her battle-preparations when she ran into Goldar. "There you are!" 

"What do you want, Goldar?" Aura snapped. "I've got a battle to prepare for!" 

"That's what I wanted to see you about!" Goldar told her. "Lord Zedd had promised Tommy to me long before you came around!" 

Aura sneered. "Maybe if you'd done your job and actually captured the Rangers, you'd still have him to play with. Now it's too late, they're all mine!" 

"You will fail, Amber Ranger!" 

"Yeah right," Aura laughed. "Maybe if you're very polite to me, Goldar, I'll let you have Tommy's leg when I'm done with the rest of him: maybe!" 

Goldar huffed and stormed off, delivering his final shot, "Mark my words, you will fail!" 

"You'd know about failing, wouldn't you!" Aura retorted. She chuckled under her breath, then headed on to continue her preparations. * * * 

The Rangers and Azure stood against Aura, who was already morphed and stood confidant and quiet on the far side of the arena, her Axe in her hands. Tommy whispered to Billy, "I know there's more of us than of her, but she's not going to be playing fair." 

Billy nodded. "I know," he glanced over at their two weak links. "And she is probably going after Adam and Azure first." 

Kat nodded. "So we guard them, make sure she can't get to them." 

Tommy nodded in his turn. "Let's do it!" 

Aura interrupted them. "If you've quite finished saying farewell to each other, or whatever it is you're doing over there, I believe we have a battle for me to win: and for you all to die in." 

"We're ready," Tommy stated. 

"Ready to die?" Aura's voice held nothing but evil in it. 

"Let's get this over with," Tommy pulled out Saba. "I hope this works!" he whispered to Billy. 

"You and me both," the Blue Ranger replied. 

"You're not the only ones," Rocky said from his place at the end of the line they'd formed into. Aura circled them carefully, looking them over. They were protecting Azure and Adam mainly, while keeping an eye on her for any surprise moves. 

"Man, this is nerve-wracking!" Aisha muttered as she watched Aura moving around. Suddenly, the Amber Ranger leapt to the attack, but not on Azure or Adam: it was Tommy who had to defend himself. 

"You'll die, Ranger!" she spat as their blades clashed against each other. 

"I dare you to try!" Tommy only defended himself, he wouldn't attack his friend. 

"No problem!" Aura leapt beyond him to where Azure stood beside Adam. Azure tried to block her sister's fierce attack, but fell to the ground, grunting in pain and shock. Aura stood suddenly, staring down at Azure. Azure stared back up at her, trembling in fear. Aura lifted her Axe again and started to bring it down. 

In mid-swing she halted, again caught by the unspoken plea in Azure's eyes. Billy pulled Azure away from Aura, as the newest Ranger turned to watch them. They couldn't see her face, but from the way she stood, the way she held her Axe, they could sense the indecision and confusion that warred within her. 

"Zedd, what's going on?" Rita turned to her husband. "Why didn't she finish that brat off?" 

Tommy grabbed Billy's arm. "I think it's starting to break!" 

"Amber Ranger!" Zedd rose from his throne and roared. "Destroy the Rangers and their friend, now!" 

Aura lifted her Axe again, her eyes drifting across the Rangers to meet Billy's. The Blue Ranger stood quietly, watching her as she watched him. Certainty replaced indecision in a heartbeat, as Aura buried the Axe in the ground at her own feet. She spoke a single word, that echoed in the arena. 

"No." 

Azure ran to Aura. "Aura? Are you back?" 

Aura replied by demorphing and wrapped her sister in a warm hug. "Oh, Azure," she glanced up at where Zedd and Rita sat watching the proceedings. "Sorry, Zedd, I'm turning in my resignation!" 

"I don't think so!" Zedd bellowed. "Goldar!" 

The winged, gold-armored ape leaped to his feet. He'd known the Amber Ranger would fail, but he hadn't dreamed it would be of this magnitude! "Yes, sire?!" 

"Destroy them!" 

As Goldar approached, Azure went pale; she feared this creature like no other in the world. "No," she whispered. A moment later, the Amber Ranger stood by her side where Aura had been. 

"Guys, if seven of us can't take on Goldar, we don't deserve to be called Power Rangers! Am I right?" 

Adam, almost totally healed now, nodded. "You're right!" 

Aura laughed at Goldar. "You ready to rumble, monkey-boy?" 

"Any time you are!" He charged at her. She laughed. 

"Let's do it!" Aura threw her Axe in a downward spiral, tripping Goldar. He landed hard on his face, to the laughter of the Rangers. 

"You'll pay for that, you Amber brat!" Goldar surged to his feet and headed straight for Azure. Aura wasn't having any of that, however, and pushed herself in between them. 

"The name is Aura, ape-face!" Aura glanced over her shoulder. "Someone get her out of the way, please?" 

Adam pulled Azure away, as Aura turned back to Goldar. "Ready to get those wings torn off your back the hard way?" 

"I can take you on!" Goldar threatened. Tommy stepped up to Aura's side. 

"You take on one Ranger, you'd better be ready to take on all of us!" 

Aura giggled. "Goldar couldn't take on a toothbrush!" 

"You don't even know what one is!" Goldar laughed. "No wait, that's Rito!" 

Aura swung her Axe one-handed, aiming directly for Goldar's head. He jumped back. "I don't think so!" 

"You just don't think at all!" was all Aura had time to say before they were teleported out. They landed in the Command Center. 

As soon as Aura realized where she was, where they all were, and that they were safe, she demorphed. The adrenaline rush from the fight drained away as she leaned against a console. 

"Guys, I'm sorry. It was my fault everything happened, all because I wanted to go after my necklace," she sighed. 

Billy shook his head. "I should have told you guys what we were planning first, we could've had you watching us in case anything went wrong." 

BILLY, AURA, I AM DISAPPOINTED IN BOTH OF YOU, BUT I AM ALSO RELIEVED THAT YOU ARE BOTH SAFE, THAT ALL OF YOU ARE SAFE AND SOUND AGAIN. 

Aura glanced up at Zordon, then around at the others. "All this, because I wanted my necklace back." 

"I wish you could've gotten it." Tommy had come to understand how much that necklace meant to her. 

"Who says I didn't?" Aura's somber face suddenly lit up with a grin. She held out her right hand, clenched into a fist. As she opened her hand, her necklace appeared in it. 

"What?" Azure stared from where she sat next to Adam as Alpha ran his scans on the Black Ranger. 

Adam stared. "How?" he asked. 

Aura grinned. "Goldar was wearing it. I just took it back from him. Amazing what he'll miss when there's an axe coming at his head!" 

"Disinfect that thing before you put it back on!" Aisha advised. 

"Believe me, I will!" Aura nodded. She lightly touched the amber stone, a soft smile curving her lips as she did so. Suddenly, the amber began to shine brightly with an unearthly glow.

**The End**


	5. Alien Amber

**Alien Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

"Whoa," the Rangers breathed in chorus. The eight young people stared as the light from Aura's necklace filled the Command Center. When it faded, two ghostly images stood before them, one male, one female. "What's going on?" Rocky breathed softly. 

Aura stared at the two figures, and her eyes widened. The male wore the same uniform she did as the Amber Ranger, only where the shield covering her chest was blank, this one bore the image of a planet of some type! She began to tremble a little. 

IT APPEARS THIS IS A MESSAGE FROM NERAS, THE LAST AMBER RANGER. Zordon spoke. I DO NOT KNOW WHO THE WOMAN IS, HOWEVER. 

"Daughter," the man's image spoke suddenly. "I am Neras, the thirty-fifth Amber Ranger of Kalakan, and your father. This must be strange, I know not how life on an alien world has treated you, but you are not human, nor are you from Earth. Your name; your real name, is Alaina. You are my firstborn child, and like me, you bear the power of the Amber Ranger, the chosen defender of Kalakan." 

The woman spoke next. "I am Shaya, your mother, a sorceress of Kalakan. By my magic, I was able to see that you would be in grave danger if you remained on Kalakan, and though it was greatly against our will, Neras and I sent you to Earth in a stasis capsule when you were but a week old." 

"My daughter, you are not the child of myself and my wife, Selania," Neras continued. "Shaya and I knew each other as children, and fell in love as adults. I had to marry Selania to satisfy certain political obligations, but I did not love her. Before my marriage however, I paid one last visit to Shaya. Perhaps I should not have, but the results are the same: you. 

"As the firstborn child, you have the power of the Amber Rangers, the hereditary defenders of our world. I wish I could be there to train you as I was trained, but that cannot be," Neras looked sad, almost as if he were about to cry. 

"My daughter," Shaya spoke once more. "Our world is currently under attack by an evil warlord, by the name of Zedd. My arts have told me that Kalakan is doomed, but Neras and I can convince only a few of this. We have made plans for what we can, but this is what I know: that Neras will die fighting Zedd, that our world will be rendered lifeless for thousands of years, and that you will survive on Earth. I wish I could help you more, but all I can do is give you life and all my love. One day we shall meet again, my daughter." 

Neras raised his head. "This necklace you wear is as old as you are, child, and will be with you as long as Kalakan exists; it is the symbol of the bond between you and your homeworld. Shaya and I have placed this message into it for you, that you will know who and what you are. It will play the first time you touch it as the Amber Ranger, and I truly wish I could have seen the warrior and woman I know you must have grown into. Farewell, my daughter, and know that your mother and I love you: always." 

"Always," Shaya nodded agreement as the images faded. 

A deep silence fell over the Command Center as the Rangers looked at each other in shock. Azure broke the stillness. 

"Aura... you mean... you're not human?" 

"I guess I'm not," Aura was shaking as she gripped a console. "What am I?" 

YOU ARE A KALAKAN, AURA. THEY ARE A VERY PROUD PEOPLE. YOU SHOULD BE HONORED TO BE OF THEIR BLOOD. 

Billy slipped an arm around Aura to support her. Aura looked at him gratefully. "I... don't know what to do now. My family's not my family. My parents aren't who I thought they were... I'm not even _what_ I thought I was!" 

"I don't care that you weren't born into my family!" Azure told her firmly. "You're _still _my sister, always have been, always will be!" 

Aura smiled lightly. "I want to talk to Mom and Dad about this. See if they knew what I am." 

"You're going to have to be careful about how you approach this! Heck, I didn't even know you were adopted!" 

"Neither did I," Aura sighed. "They could have at least told me that much!" 

Tommy looked at the ground, shadows in his dark eyes. "I know how you feel." 

"Tommy?" Aura raised an eyebrow. 

"I was also adopted," Tommy told her. "I just found out recently; I came across the adoption certificate." 

Aura nodded briefly, then glanced at Azure. "Want to go talk to our parents? They've got a few things to answer to." 

Azure nodded. "Sure. Let's go do it... sister!" 

"All right, sister," Aura smiled a touch. * * * 

By the time Aura and Azure entered their house, Aura was on the verge of losing her temper completely. She'd thought a lot about her recent discoveries, both about being the Amber Ranger and now an alien and adopted. 

Their mother looked up as they came in, and saw storm clouds in Aura's gray eyes. "Girls? What's wrong?" 

"Why didn't you ever tell me I was adopted?" Aura spoke flatly. 

Their father looked up, shock in his eyes. "How did you find out?" 

Azure interrupted Aura before she could say anything. "It's a long story, but we did." 

"Why didn't you tell me?" Aura's voice was choking with tears. She could bear it no longer, she touched the amber in her medallion. The images of Neras and Shaya appeared again, but before they could speak, Mrs. Robinson fainted dead away. 

"You're joking, right?" Mr. Robinson looked at them. "This has got to be some kind of joke!" 

"I'm not joking," Aura bit the words out. "I'm not even laughing!" She pinned them with her gaze. "Well? What do you think of your daughter... the alien!?" 

Mr. Robinson sighed as his wife slowly regained her senses. "We adopted you when we thought we couldn't have children. As for why we never told you..." he glanced over at Mrs. Robinson. 

"We never deemed it important," she said. "You are our daughter, nothing can take away all the love this family has had!" 

"And we never knew about you being an alien," her father took a deep breath and continued. "You were in an orphanage, we were told you had been found quite literally on a hospital's doorstep, and your necklace was with you even then." 

Aura touched it again, not calling up the images of her birth-parents this time, though. "This came from Kalakan: like I do. My birth-parents sent it with me." 

She sighed, her anger suddenly drained away like snow in summer. "But you still should have told me I was adopted." 

Azure frowned a bit; something had been bothering her since learned of Aura's origins. "Does this mean I'm adopted too?" 

Her father shook his head. "No Azure, you're our natural daughter." 

Aura muttered, "Guess that makes me the unnatural one." 

"You came as quite a shock to us, by the way," Mrs. Robinson told Azure. She glanced sharply at Aura when she mentioned being 'unnatural'. "You're as natural as Azure is!" 

Aura nearly growled, "I'm not even human!" 

"Does that change who you are in our hearts? Our Aura? Our daughter!" 

"I guess not... Mom," Aura smiled a touch. 

"I didn't think so." Her mom smiled. "Why don't we call out for pizza and have an evening of discussing some of this?" 

Aura's smile broadened. "Yeah! I don't know what they ate where I'm from, but whatever it is, it can't compare to pizza!" * * * 

"So _that's_ why she was able to fight the spells!" Zedd exclaimed. "She's not human!" 

"That also explains how she's the Amber Ranger," Rita cackled. "She's the daughter of the last one!" 

"I knew I got rid of Neras," Zedd muttered to himself. "He prevented me from taking Kalakan, now his offspring is preventing me from taking Earth! Well, now I can have my revenge on him, through her!" 

Rita's cold laughter chilled all who heard it. "Tell me your wicked thoughts, Zeddy! I want to see her _suffer!_" 

Zedd explained. "We create duplicates of the Rangers and of her family, evil duplicates. She will be so confused by seeing them normal one moment and vicious to her the next she won't know where to turn or what to do!" 

"We could even regain her as our warrior, perhaps!" Rita laughed. "If she believes they're all against her, then she may turn against_ them!"_

"And if not," Zedd grasped his staff and glared down at Earth, to where Aura was walking alone, having left her house after dinner to think things through even more. "Then she _will _be destroyed!" 

Rita agreed, as Zedd raised his staff and sent a beam of energy down towards Earth, to a photocopying machine. "Duplicator, arise!" 

Duplicator appeared. "Command me, and I obey, Lord Zedd!!!" 

"Go and duplicate the Power Rangers, and the Amber Ranger's family, Duplicator!" Zedd ordered. "But don't let anyone see the duplicates until I command it!" 

"As you wish, master!" Duplicator set off on its evil mission. * * * 

Things had settled down tremendously in the past few hours for the Rangers. As they walked, Tommy found his thoughts turning to the newest Ranger, and the strange things they'd discovered about her. "I wonder how Aura's family is taking all of this." 

Rocky shrugged. "I don't know. It's kind of a shock, you've gotta admit." 

Billy nodded. "I know." 

Kat had been thinking over something. "Billy, does knowing what Aura is change anything... about how you feel about her?" 

Billy paused and looked at her questioningly. "No, not in the least." 

Kat smiled. "I didn't think it would. You two are a tighter couple than I've ever seen before." 

"Thanks," Billy smiled. Adam was staring at something in the distance, suddenly he pointed. 

"Uh, guys, I think we've got a problem!" 

The Duplicator was storming towards them, with a small army of Tengas with it. "Man, not now!" Tommy groaned. "It's morphin' time!" * * * 

"Well, this has been a strange couple of days," Mrs. Robinson sighed. Her husband nodded. 

"Who would have thought that Aura's... well... what she is?" 

"I think the message said Kalakan," Azure reminded them. Her father nodded briefly. 

"That's right," he agreed. 

"I don't care who or what gave birth to her, she's still my daughter," was Mrs. Robinson's statement. 

Azure smiled, then yelped suddenly as a monster lurched towards them. Her parents turned to see what had startled her, only to be surprised in their turn by a bright flash of light. 

"What happened?" Azure shook her head, her head was spinning suddenly. 

"I don't know," her mother blinked, trying to clear her mind. 

"That was strange!" was Mr. Robinson's addition. 

"You're telling me," Azure nodded. _I'd better go find Adam and ask him about this._

"We'd better go on home," Mrs. Robinson placed a hand against her forehead. "I suddenly don't feel well." * * * 

_Who would have thought I'm... not human. I still can't accept it. I LOOK human... I feel human. I act human. But I'm not. I'm from another planet. I don't remember it. But it must be true. I'm the Amber Ranger already, I had to have gotten the powers from somewhere, and I already know I was born with them. _

Aura's thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice, with a strange, nasty edge to it she'd never heard before. "Hey, look who's here!" 

She looked up to see Adam and Rocky, both with mild sardonic expressions on their faces. Adam grinned faintly. "Look, it's Aura, the alien!" 

"Hi, guys!" Aura smiled, not letting the sharp pain she'd felt when Adam had called her an alien show. 

"Hey," Rocky mumbled. She frowned. 

"Is anything wrong?" 

"Not really," Rocky told her. Adam leaned over and whispered into his friend's ear, but Aura heard it plainly. "Nothing her leaving wouldn't fix!" 

"Are you sure?" Aura wondered. Rocky looked at her, an annoyed expression in his eyes. 

"Yeah, I'm sure!" 

"She sure is pushy, isn't she?" Adam looked at Aura somewhat harshly. Rocky nodded, and turned away from her, starting to walk off. 

"Excuse me if I said something wrong!" Aura was confused. "I just wanted to know if everything was all right, you were acting kind of strange!" 

"Oh, everything will be fine," Aura stared at Adam as he spoke. "If you stay away from us." 

Aura stared after them as they left. _What was that all about? _she wondered. She headed for home, hoping that whatever had been wrong with Rocky and Adam wasn't catching: or serious. 

"Something wrong?" Aura glanced up, it was Azure speaking to her. 

"Oh, Azure. No, well... maybe," Aura took a closer look at her sister. "Are you all right?" Azure looked somewhat disoriented. 

"Just a little confused," Azure motioned Aura to sit down, and told her of the monster's non-attack in the park. 

"A monster?" 

"Yeah, he just flashed us, and left. It was weird." 

"Very weird," Aura frowned. 

"You're telling me," Azure nodded. "So, you going to tell me what's wrong with you?" 

"It's nothing, I'm more worried about that monster," Aura tried to brush her sister's concern away. "I hope it didn't do anything to you guys." 

Azure was more stubborn than that, however. "Spill it, girl, I know you too well, something's up!" 

Aura sighed, there were some disadvantages to having a sister who knew you like an extension of herself. "Well, it was Rocky and Adam. They were acting kind of strange." 

She quickly explained the strange encounter she'd had with them. Azure's eyes widened in shock. "That doesn't sound like Adam. He usually thinks the world of you, when you aren't under one of Zedd's spells. When you are, he's worried." 

Aura sighed hopefully. "Maybe. I don't know. Maybe they're just having a bad day?" 

"Must be," Azure nodded. "Let me talk to Adam about this, okay?" 

Aura nodded. "Not a problem." She smiled as Azure gave her a quick peck on the cheek. 

"Did I tell you what a great sister you are recently?" 

"No, not since yesterday!" Aura giggled. 

"You are," Azure smiled. "Always have been, always will be." 

"You're the best, too," Aura smiled, forgetting her worries always seemed easier when Azure was around. * * * 

"Hello?" Adam picked up the phone as it rang. 

"Hey, it's me." It was Azure. "I need to talk to you about something." 

Her tone was more serious than he'd ever heard it before. "What's wrong?" 

"What was going on with you and Rocky today?" 

"What are you talking about?" 

"When you were talking to Aura earlier, she told me that you two were a little rude!" 

Adam was surprised. "Azure, I haven't seen Aura since she left the Command Center to go with you to talk to your parents." 

"But... man..." Azure had been disoriented by the park monster, now she was just flat out mystified. "This whole day is getting way too confusing, first the whole necklace thing, then finding out Aura's an alien, then that monster in the park, and now this!" 

"Monster in the park?" 

"Yeah, he came and flashed us," Azure quickly explained once more what had happened. 

"Are you guys all right?" 

"Yeah, that's what I can't figure out, it flashed us and left!" Azure sighed. 

"That's unusual to say the least!" 

"Tell me about it!" * * * 

"Where are you going, Aura?" her mom asked as she headed back outside. 

"Going out for another walk," she told her. "I've got a lot on my mind, Mom." 

"You be careful," Mrs. Robinson advised. "Not all aliens are as good as you!" 

Aura grinned, but it felt fake on her lips. She knew better than most just how evil some aliens were. She walked past Billy's house, hoping to catch him outside. She was in luck, he was out there talking with Tommy. 

"Hi, Tommy!" she waved at her friend and boyfriend. "Hi, Billy!" 

"Hey," Tommy seemed a bit distant, and Billy wasn't even looking at her! 

"Hi," was all he said as she came up and put an arm around him. Her kiss of greeting was accepted, but she had the strangest feeling he would have rather she didn't do it. 

"Billy?" Aura's heart pounded, but not in the normal joyous fashion it usually did when she was near Billy. "Is anything wrong with you two?" Azure had mentioned a monster; what if it had done something to them? No, it hadn't bothered the Rangers, just her family, but that was worrisome enough as it was. 

"Not really," Tommy replied. "I guess you could say a bad day." 

"Oh," Aura smiled. "Anything I can do to make it better?" 

"Not really," Billy told her. Aura felt a chill run down her spine at the coldness in his tone. 

"Billy, what's wrong, what's happened?" 

"It's nothing." He was almost sharp with her. 

"Oh," Aura stepped back. "Well... ummm... I'll call you later, Billy, okay?" 

"Yeah," Billy nodded, and whispered lightly. "Whatever..." 

Aura kept walking, unshed tears hurting her eyes. What had she done to make people act so strangely towards her all of a sudden? 

She paused for a moment. It wasn't what she'd done, she realized. It was what she _was._ No, it couldn't be that. They'd all told her it didn't matter, that she would still be their friend and sister regardless. "Hey, look who comes our way!" 

Aura looked up to see Azure, Kat, and Aisha coming towards her. It was Azure who had spoken. "Hi!" Aura waved back at them happily. At least Azure wouldn't be mad at her or hate her for being what she was. 

"Hi," Kat sounded extremely annoyed. It tripped Aura's temper. 

"What is the problem with everyone today?!" the Amber Ranger snapped. 

"Nothing," Aisha replied sweetly. "Nothing at all." 

"Nothing," Aura growled. "Always nothing! If I've done something wrong to make everyone mad, I'd like to know about it!" 

Kat shot her a nasty look. "You didn't! Sheesh... I've got to go meet Tommy." 

"Bye," Azure waved as Kat left, then turned to Aura. "That was a bit rude!" 

"Azure, this is the third time today I've run across people who act like there's something wrong, and whenever I ask what's up, they always say 'nothing'!! I'm getting a little tired of it!" 

"You didn't have to snap at her," Azure looked coldly at her sister. Aura stared, not believing her eyes or her ears. 

"Azure..." 

"What?" 

"Why are you mad at me now?" Aura trembled, she and Azure hadn't fought seriously once in all their lives. 

"Why don't you look at your attitude? Come on, Aisha," Aura stared after them in disbelief, as Azure and Aisha walked away. Tears shone in her gray eyes that she still refused to shed. * * * 

"Oh, this is simply too easy!" Zedd's laughter echoed in the palace on the moon. 

"She's so confused already!" Rita agreed. "And it's only going to get worse!" 

"She will be _ours_ once more!" Zedd gloated, anticipating how much damage a free-willed Amber Ranger could do, once she was turned to evil. 

"And willingly this time!" Rita couldn't believe this was happening, soon the Rangers would be defeated and destroyed! * * * 

"You sure that's what he said?" Billy asked Tommy. Tommy nodded, and was about to reply, when someone came running by. Billy recognized the person on sight. 

"Aura?" 

It was indeed the young woman he'd given his heart to. When he called her name, she stopped and looked at him, confusion in her eyes. 

"Is something wrong?" Tommy asked gently. 

"No... no... I... well," Aura didn't know what to say or how to say it. Billy captured her gray gaze with his own blue eyes. 

"You can tell me Aura, honest." Aura couldn't look away from him, but also couldn't tell him the truth. 

"Nothing's wrong Billy," Aura shook her head. Billy wasn't buying that, however; he'd always been able to see into her heart. 

"Don't shut me out, please." Billy took her hands and forced her to look at him when she would have looked away. "I don't think I could take that again." 

Aura trembled for a second, then finally told the two of what had happened in her last meeting with Azure and the two Ranger girls. Tommy looked confused when she was done. 

"I wasn't supposed to meet Kat today, this is getting very weird." 

"It got weird a while back, Tommy," Aura sighed. Tommy looked at her carefully, it almost seemed as if she were hiding something. 

"Is there something you're not telling us?" 

Aura shook her head. "I'm going to go find Azure again and apologize. I _was_ kind of rude." 

Billy smiled and kissed her gently. "Call me later." 

"I already said I would, remember?" Aura left, her heart lighter just by being with Billy. * * * 

Aura almost skipped up the street after leaving Billy. She saw her parents ahead of her, probably going to get the pizza they'd ordered a while back. "Hi, Mom, Dad!" she waved cheerfully. 

"Hello." Her mother's voice was troubled. Aura's eyes widened a trifle. 

"Mom? Is something wrong?" 

"A lot," her father said. 

"What is it?" Aura wondered what had happened. 

"Nothing that you can help," her mom said sharply. 

"Maybe I can," Aura tried. "If it's money, I can get a job or something. What's going on?" 

"Aura!" her mother snapped. "You can't help us with it!" 

Aura stepped back, surprised at her mother's tone of voice. "I... I'm sorry." 

Her mother glanced over at Mr. Robinson. "We need to have a discussion," then cast a quick glance at Aura, "about that matter." 

Aura's eyes widened, and she stepped back a bit farther. "I... I'll see you at home..." 

She couldn't face them any more. She knew what they were talking about. She wasn't human. She didn't belong. She was an alien. She stared to run, the tears she'd held in so long finally bursting free. 

She barely noticed Azure, reading on the front porch, as she ran by her. "Aura?" Azure called out her name. Aura kept running, straight to her bedroom, and did something she hadn't done since she was 10: threw herself on her bed and started crying her heart out. 

"Aura?" Azure quietly opened the door and saw Aura's weeping. She entered, sitting next to Aura and touched her lightly on the shoulder. "Aura, talk to me." 

"Oh, Azure, why did I ever tell them what I am?" Aura managed to choke out the words through tears. 

"Who? What's going on, Aura?" Azure was confused. 

"Mom... Dad..." 

Azure nodded lightly. "Give them time. It's going to take time to digest this." 

Aura shook her head. "You didn't hear how they sounded... what they said," she managed to spill out what their parents had told her. 

"What?" Azure couldn't believe her ears. "Why would they do that?" 

"I don't know," Aura shook her head. "Everything's been so strange today, ever since I told Mom and Dad about being what I am..." 

"I wanted to talk to you about that," Azure said softly, looking away. 

"What is it?" Aura's heart sank; Azure didn't seem to be holding a grudge from earlier, but that could just be a clever concealment. 

"I talked to Adam about what happened earlier, he told me that he and Rocky were at the Youth Center talking to Ernie, he said he hadn't seen you since we left the Command Center." 

Aura shook her head. "That's not true, I talked to them, I know I'm not losing my mind," Aura closed her eyes. "Am I?" she whispered softly. Azure heard her, however. 

"No, you're not," she smiled. "Something weird is going on here." 

"I hope not," Aura sighed. Just then, the front door opened. 

"We're home!" Mr. Robinson called out. 

"Time to eat!" Aura giggled, she was feeling a little better already. 

Azure smiled back, but had heard something in their dad's voice. "He didn't sound too happy." 

Aura nodded agreement. "Probably they were just out of anchovies at the pizza place," she suggested. Azure looked ill. 

"I hope so!" The sisters headed for the stairs, but Aura stopped suddenly about midway down. She'd heard something. 

"Can you believe it? Do we really have to accept it?" It was Mr. Robinson. 

"I believe it," his wife said. " But I don't think we have to accept it." 

Azure stopped behind Aura. "What did she just say?" she whispered. Aura's face turned white at the next words. 

"I'm not accepting it. My daughter... the alien!" 

"She's not _my_ daughter!" Mrs. Robinson declared. Her husband chuckled. 

"She's adopted." 

"She's an alien," Mrs. Robinson made the word sound like the vilest of insults. "She doesn't belong with us, or to us, or even on this planet!" 

Aura backed up, she'd heard enough. She pushed her way past Azure and ran for her room, slamming and locking the door. She pulled a suitcase out of the closet and started packing a bag, she had no intentions of staying there a moment longer. 

"Aura!" It was Azure. "Let me in!" Azure was banging on the door. "_Don't make me break this door down!"_

Aura finished packing and headed for the window just as Azure slammed the door wide open and grabbed her shoulder. "Don't!" 

Aura threw Azure's hand off her shoulder. "They don't want me here Azure, so I won't be here!" Her gray eyes overflowed with tears. 

"Then I'm coming with you!" Azure said firmly. 

"You belong here Azure," Aura spoke through her sobs. "I don't. I'm... I'm an alien." 

"I don't care!" Azure snapped. "You're my sister, that's all I care about!" 

Aura shook her head and started out the window again. "At least talk to the Rangers, please!" 

Aura sighed. "Oh, all right. Maybe I can stay with one of them." 

Azure smiled. "I'm coming with you." 

"If you insist," Aura sighed. "But hurry, I'm not staying here a moment longer than I have to." * * * 

"There they are!" Azure and Aura headed towards the Youth Center. They'd spied the Rangers seated around a table at the outside cafe, but both girls stopped in their tracks as they heard what was being discussed. 

"I can't believe you're actually dating her, Billy!" It was Tommy speaking. 

"I won't be much longer," Billy laughed, but it sounded as if it would have been more appropriate coming from Zedd than from a human. "I'm going to find a human woman!" 

"No," Aura whispered, looking as if someone had punched her in the guts. 

"And as soon as I can, I'm going to get Azure away from that freak!" It was Adam. 

"I... I..." Aura could barely speak; she had never dreamed to hear her friends say things like that. Suddenly Billy looked up, and saw Aura looking at him. He headed straight for her. 

"Can we talk?" He sounded cold and distant. 

"Yeah," she trembled in fear, hoping he didn't say what she thought he was going to. 

"I don't ever want to see you again." 

He said it. Blood drained from Aura's face as tears coursed down her cheeks. "Billy. . . why? What did I do?" 

"I can't see myself dating an alien." There was not even friendship in his voice, much less love. 

Aura shook as she tried to salvage her love. "Billy please, don't do this, we can make it work, I love you!" 

What he said next struck her like a ton of bricks in her heart. "I don't love you." 

"Billy, don't say that!" Aura dropped her bag and stepped back, shaking her head, trying to deny what was happening. 

"What? I don't love you? Why not? It's the truth!" 

Aura could take it no longer, she turned and ran, away from her sister, away from the Rangers, away from what had been her life. 

Azure stared after her sister, then turned to Adam. The sound of her hand against his cheek as she slapped him echoed over all of Angel Grove. "_I never want to see any of you again!" _she swore. 

"You should get away from that freak, Azure," Adam told her, touching his cheek. "She's nothing but trouble." 

"Wrong," Azure hissed. "It's you I should be getting away from!" 

She turned to leave, only to run straight into Bulk and Skull, having been attracted by the noise, and was stuck trying to get away from the two semi-bumbling junior officers. * * * 

Aura ran through the park, not knowing or caring where she was going. She stopped suddenly when she ran into someone: literally. She stopped to move around them, when a voice that literally froze her blood spoke. 

"Hello, Amber Ranger!" It was Zedd. Rita stood next to him, they were in the park, just like normal people! 

She backed away, fear in her eyes. "Can't people just leave me alone?" 

Zedd tried to look kind. "We want you to know that we haven't turned our backs on you, unlike the Rangers." 

"W-what do you mean?" 

"We want you to come with us," Rita smiled. "Where you will have a home. We aliens have to stick together, you know." 

This was definitely _not_ what she'd expected! When she'd seen them, she'd almost expected to be grabbed and taken to the moon again. "You're kidding!" 

"Does it look like we are?" 

Aura didn't believe what she was hearing; first the Rangers turned against her, now her worst enemies were offering a hand of friendship! For a brief moment, she wondered if she'd somehow awakened in an alternate universe. "I... I don't know." Reality struck suddenly. "If I went with you, would I have to fight the Rangers?" 

"What do you think?" Zedd regained his normal evil visage. 

"No. Never." Aura knew her reply without having to think it over for another second. "The Rangers might hate me, but I still love Billy, and I still care about the others. I will never fight them!" 

Zedd was angry; she could tell his moods at a glance, it came from being unwillingly linked to his mind while she was his slave. "So be it!" he told her. "Then you will one day _perish!_" 

He and Rita vanished. Aura closed her eyes; amazingly, talking with them had cleared her mind considerably. "I won't betray my friends, but I won't stay here where I don't belong, either." 

Aura glanced around, no one was there to see her. She morphed and called forth the Axe of Kalakan. She knew so much of what it could do now, knowledge poured into her from the past thirty-five Amber Rangers: her family." "I'm going back where I belong. I'm going home." 

She raised the Axe over her head. If she'd been unmorphed, tears would have shone on her face as she called out the next words. "Axe of my Ancestors! Take me home!" 

Azure ran up the hill to Aura, calling out her name. But she was too late. In a flash of amber light, Aura, the Amber Ranger had left Earth. "AURA! No, don't go!" 

She collapsed to her knees, crying as the light that was her sister vanished from view. A gentle voice spoke from behind her as she stared at the space her sister had last occupied. "Azure?" 

She turned to see Adam and the others there. "What do you want?" Her voice betrayed only pain and hate for those who had driven her sister away. 

"Azure, what's wrong? We heard you calling for Aura. Has something happened to her?" 

Azure sprang to her feet and smacked Adam again, nearly cracking her hand in the process. "Why can't you leave me alone?" 

Adam stared at her, eyes wide. "What's wrong?" 

"Drop dead!" Azure ran off, tears in her eyes. Adam stared at the others. 

"What was that all about?" 

"I wish I knew, Adam," Tommy shook his head. 

"Things have been strange all day." He quickly filled the others in on what Azure had told him earlier, about Aura's first encounter with Rocky and himself. Rocky was surprised. 

"No way!" was his response. 

"I think we'd better get to the Command Center," Tommy advised. Adam nodded, throwing a quick glance at Billy. 

"I hope everything's all right with Aura, Azure seemed very upset over something." * * * 

RANGERS, Zordon greeted them as they teleported in. Adam got down to business. 

"What's going on, Zordon? Azure's acting very strange, and no one can find Aura! She didn't even answer her communicator!" 

ALPHA, RUN A SCAN FOR AURA. ADAM, AS TO WHY AZURE IS ACTING STRANGELY, YOU MUST FIND OUT ON YOUR OWN. 

Adam nodded, he hadn't really expected Zordon to know what Azure's trouble was. Suddenly Alpha cried out his characteristic "Ay-yi-yi-yi!" 

"What is it?" Billy leaped over to him. 

"She's on Kalakan!" Alpha reported. 

"What? Why?" Tommy wondered. 

"I don't know," Alpha shook his head, punching more buttons on the console. "She's not answering her communicator!" 

A moment later they heard a cold, emotionless voice that was barely recognizable as Aura's. "Leave me alone. Forever." A moment later, only static answered them. 

"What's going on here?" Billy looked worried. 

"This is too strange!" Kat, like all the Rangers, was confused. The viewing globe flashed suddenly, and as one, the Rangers turned to see Zedd there, leering at them. 

"Greetings, Rangers!" Zedd laughed. 

"What do you want?" Adam growled. 

"Oh, just to let you know that you no longer have to worry about your precious Amber Ranger," Zedd laughed evilly. 

"What are you talking about, Zedd?" Kat wondered. She got her answer a moment later, when the scene in the globe shifted to a sparkling blue-green world. 

THAT IS KALAKAN. Zordon told them. WHERE AURA IS NOW. 

"Correction, Zordon!" Zedd's voice came to them again. The view widened, and they saw Serpentera hovering over the planet. "That _was_ Kalakan!" 

Lasers poured out from Serpentera's various weapons, to wash over the planet. When it was ended, only a few floating bits of dust remained of the once-beautiful world. "AURA!" the cry was torn from Billy's throat. "NO!" 

**The End**


	6. Lost Amber

**Lost Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

I hate them. I hate them all. They did it. They made her leave. Even our parents did. Azure Robinson lay on her bed, tears falling ceaselessly down her cheeks. She hadn't stopped crying in almost a day, not since she'd returned from the park. From seeing Aura vanish in a blaze of amber light, going back to the planet of her birth.  
  
How could they do that to her? She loved them all, and they just TURNED on her. And now Mom and Dad act as if nothing at all has happened! They're worried about her, as if they didn't practically drive her away!  
  
Azure got up suddenly and went into Aura's room. She wondered if her sister would ever return to it. The place reflected Aura's quiet personality and eternal love for Billy. On her nightstand was a picture of Aura and Billy together. Next to it was a chunk of amber. Aura had found it at a flea market and bought it just before all the events that led up to her discovering she was the Amber Ranger happened. Azure had never had the chance to ask why Aura had bought it.  
  
Now I may never get the chance. Oh, Aura, come home soon. You were wrong, you don't belong on Kalakan, you belong here! A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts, and she headed to answer it. She passed her parents on the way, but said nothing to them; she was still upset.  
  
Adam was on the other side of the door. She gritted her teeth and started to close it, she had no desire to see him. "Please don't," his voice was tight, and she could swear he had tears in his eyes.  
  
"Why shouldn't I?" she asked angrily.  
  
"Because I have to tell you about Aura."  
  
"She left, no thanks you!" Azure tried to close the door again.  
  
"It's worse than that, Azure," Adam did have tears in his eyes. "Much, much worse!"  
  
"What?" Azure's eyes widened a trifle at the emotion in his voice.  
  
"Your parents will want to know as well. Zordon wants them to know everything."  
  
Azure sighed. "Come on, they're in the living room." She let him in.  
  
"I won't be long," Adam told her.  
  
"You'd better not be," she replied harshly. As they came into the living room, Adam nodded to her parents.  
  
"Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, Azure, I have some very bad news about Aura," Adam began.  
  
"What is it?" Mr. Robinson looked concerned.  
  
"First," Adam took a deep breath. "Aura was the Amber Ranger, one of the Power Rangers; second I'm the Black Ranger."  
  
He quietly explained about the Rangers and about the events of the past few days. Azure had caught something, though.  
  
"What do you mean she was the Amber Ranger?" she asked. Before Adam could answer, her mom shook her head.  
  
"I don't believe this! First we find out she's an alien, now we find out she's a Power Ranger... and Azure's dating one of them!"  
  
"Was dating," Azure corrected absently. Adam bit his lip, then continued.  
  
"Yesterday, Aura left the planet, to go back to Kalakan, the world she was born on." Adam took another deep breath; this was harder on him than he'd thought it would be. "Lord Zedd destroyed Kalakan minutes after she arrived."  
  
"What?!" the entire Robinson family cried out.  
  
Adam continued, his voice nearly breaking with pain. "I'm sorry, I've never had to do this before. But... Aura is dead."  
  
"You jerk!" Azure slapped Adam again, with all her heart in it. "You killed her!"   
  
"It wasn't us!" Adam cried out as she ran out of the room, and a moment later, they heard the sound of the front door slamming.  
  
"I think you've got some explaining to do, young man!" Mr. Robinson said harshly as his wife left to go find Azure. Adam began to explain. The clones Zedd and Rita had made had left traces, and Billy had found those traces in endless scans the previous afternoon and evening. The Rangers knew almost everything that had gone on now.  
  
"Zedd and Rita created evil clones of the Rangers, yourself, your wife, and Azure, to make Aura think we hated her," he explained. "I don't know if they intended to drive her to Kalakan or not, but that was what happened. And now she's gone."  
  
Adam bent his head as he said that; even after what Aura had done to him and the others while under Zedd's control, he still counted her among his friends, and even if he hadn't, she was a Ranger. The loss of a Ranger hurt the world.  
  
"Let me talk to Azure," Mr. Robinson suggested. "She can be stubborn at times. It's going to take time, as well, to come to terms with Aura's death." He himself looked on the verge of tears.  
  
Adam stood up. "We never wanted this to happen, sir. Billy hasn't let his room since he got home yesterday. He's hurting at least as much as Azure is."  
  
Mr. Robinson nodded. "I can imagine. Go home, let me straighten things out with Azure."  
  
Adam thanked him for understanding. "I don't have to tell you and your wife to keep our secret. We wouldn't have told you at all if it weren't for Aura."  
  
Azure's father nodded again. "I know, and we will keep it."  
  
"Thank you," Adam and Mr. Robinson shook hands, then Adam left, heading next door to talk to Billy.  
  
* * *  
  
She's dead. How can she be dead? She was alive less than a day ago. She was with me. I was with her. We were happy. Billy's thoughts ran in circles as he sat in his room, staring at the walls.  
  
He hadn't left the room in nearly twelve hours. He didn't plan on ever leaving it again. The world held nothing more for him, without Aura in it. He would hate Rita and Zedd forever for what they'd done to him.  
  
A knock at the door. "Come on, Billy, let me in!" It was Adam. Billy sat there, ignoring him. Nothing mattered without Aura.  
  
"I swear if you don't, I'll teleport in there!" Billy's parents weren't at home, so Adam felt safe in speaking. Billy unlocked the door and sat back down; it made no real difference.  
  
"That's better." Adam came in and looked at his friend carefully. "Have you eaten anything today?"  
  
"No." There was no life in Billy's voice at all, nothing whatsoever to hint at the fact he was a true and breathing person. He hadn't even changed clothes in the past day.  
  
"Come on, let's get you some food." Adam tugged at Billy's arm.  
  
"No." It was the same tone, or more precisely lack of tone, he'd spoken in before. He was staring at something across the room.  
  
"You're starting to scare me Billy." Adam looked nervously at his friend. He'd never seen Billy like this before. He glanced to see what Billy was looking at, and saw a picture on Billy's nightstand, of Billy and Aura together. It had been taken after Aura had escaped from Zedd's control the first time, during that glorious week before everything had gone insane.  
  
"She... she died thinking I hate her," Billy uttered the words disbelieving, he still couldn't accept her death.  
  
"Thinking we all hated her," Adam reminded him softly. "Tommy is getting in touch with Jason, Zack, Trini and Kim."  
  
Billy didn't notice. "How could we have let that happen?" he screamed; he didn't know if he was talking to himself or to Adam at this point, he barely recognized the fact Adam was in the room with him.  
  
"I don't have the answer to that Billy." Adam found himself staring at the photograph. For a moment, images of Aura flashed through his mind: the first time he'd seen her in the Youth Center, so happy to see Billy again, then suffering through one of the headaches that had been the only hint of her true identity as the Amber Ranger. He saw her twisted with evil and hate at Zedd's command, and that moment when she stood free of his spells, staring in sorrow and disbelief at Billy's prone body. He saw again her Axe coming down towards him, stopped only by Tommy's Saba. In his mind, she stared at the image of her birth-parents, as the secret of her origin was finally revealed. "I wish I did."  
  
"We're supposed to protect people, we couldn't even protect one of our own!" Billy's voice was strangled with emotion.  
  
"I know." Adam hung his head, touching the sore spot on his jaw where Azure had hit him. He looked at Billy for a second, to see that the young Blue Ranger had tears pouring down his cheeks.  
  
"Oh, Adam," he croaked. "I still love her: I can't love anyone else but her!" Billy noticed Adam rubbing his jaw. "Azure hit you?" He could think of no one else who would have.  
  
"Yeah," Adam nodded. "After she accused us of killing Aura. I explained everything to her dad. She ran out before I could explain it to her."  
  
Billy gave the only advice he could. "Try to get her to see the truth. Don't lose her."  
  
"I hope I haven't already," Adam sighed. He barely caught Billy's whispered, "Like I lost Aura." Adam stood up.  
  
"Come on, you need food!" He started to pull at Billy again.  
  
"What does it matter? Nothing matters without her," Billy sighed. "She's gone, Adam, gone forever!"  
  
Adam groaned to himself, Billy was sinking fast. "She wouldn't have wanted you to sit up here and rot."  
  
That seemed to get through to Billy. "She... she wouldn't, would she?"  
  
"No, she wouldn't," Adam shook his head. Billy got to his feet and walked across the room to the photograph. He touched it gently.  
  
"I love you Aura," he said softly, then turned back to Adam. "Let's go."  
  
* * *  
  
Tommy stared at the phone for almost five minutes, gathering his courage. He'd never had to do something like this; and didn't envy Adam his job of explaining things to the Robinsons. He finally picked up the phone and dialed. A few moments later, he heard a familiar voice. "Hello?"  
  
"Kim?"  
  
"Tommy?" Kim had heard Tommy's voice in a variety of moods, but not this depression.  
  
"Are you sitting down?"  
  
"Why, what's happened?" All sorts of dark scenarios began to run through her mind.  
  
"It's Aura Robinson," Tommy broke down for a few seconds.  
  
"Aura?" Kim wondered what could have happened to her old friend. Sure, she'd stopped seeing Billy, but she'd also started again, from the phone call she'd gotten from Azure only three days earlier. "What about her?"  
  
"She died yesterday," Tommy managed to speak the words.  
  
"WHAT?!" Kim groped for a chair, not believing her ears at all.  
  
"Zedd... she died," Tommy couldn't quite say everything that had happened just yet.  
  
"What did Zedd have to do with it?" Kim whispered as two of the other gymnasts walked by.  
  
"He blew up a planet she was on," Tommy reported. He held the phone away from his ear as Kim ran through four languages worth of insults on Zedd. When she was done, he continued. "She died thinking we hate her, Kim."  
  
Something clicked in Kim. "Wait. Why was she on another planet? What else is there, Tommy?"  
  
"Remember the Amber Ranger?" Tommy explained what had happened and what they had learned. When it was over, Kim leaned back in the chair, tears falling down her cheeks.  
  
"When... when's the funeral? Will there be one?"  
  
"I don't know," Tommy admitted it. "Adam went to talk to her family. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if Azure blamed us!"  
  
Kim made a decision. "I'm going to see if I can come back for a while I again. You'd better get in touch with Jason, Zack and Trini as well. They'll want to know."  
  
"Ok, I will," Tommy nodded lightly. "I love you."  
  
"I love you too, Tommy," Kim hung up the phone, made her way back to her room, and started crying uncontrollably.  
  
* * *  
  
Tommy hung his phone up and stared at it again. Before he could lose his nerve, he looked up another number, and dialed it. "Hello?" a warm voice asked.  
  
"Hey Zack," Tommy greeted him.  
  
"Tommy! Hey man, what's up?" the former Black Ranger asked.  
  
"Aura Robinson," Tommy began. Zack cut him off.  
  
"Oh, did she and Billy finally get engaged??"  
  
"Zack," Tommy interrupted. "She died yesterday." A moment later, Tommy heard what could only be Zack hitting the floor in shock.  
  
"What?" his old friend whispered. Tommy heard Jason in the background.  
  
"Yo Zack, what's up?"  
  
"Have a nice trip?" Trini teased as well. Zack glanced away from the phone. "Aura."  
  
"What about her?" Jason asked.   
  
"She... she's dead," Zack told them. The other two former Rangers chorused, "What? How?"  
  
Zack turned back to the phone. "What happened?"  
  
"Zedd, that's what happened," Tommy said. He held the phone away from his ear as Zack echoed the word.  
  
"How? Why?" Trini wondered. Tommy explained what had happened, and how Aura and the others had discovered that she was the Amber Ranger.  
  
Zack sighed. "Oh man, we've got to get back to Angel Grove."  
  
"Maybe you guys can talk Billy into coming out of his room," Tommy suggested.  
  
"Sounds like he's really hurting," Zack commented. "Took them long enough to figure out they were in love. We'll be back as soon as we can. We'll see you guys soon Tommy, thanks for letting us know."  
  
"No problem," Tommy sighed as he hung up. Across the ocean, in Switzerland, three young people who'd faced the near-destruction of their world calmly, now collapsed into tears at the loss of a true friend.  
  
* * *  
  
On the moon, however, there was an air of total gaiety and mirth. "Yes!" Rita cried out in joy. "We destroyed the Amber Ranger at last!"  
  
"Now we'll destroy the rest of those pathetic Rangers!" Zedd had already begun to plan the destruction of the others.  
  
"Let us begin with Billy. He's so broken up over the loss of his little girlfriend, he's got no chance to fight back!"  
  
"Perfect!" Zedd crowed.  
  
"What sort of monster shall it be, Zeddy?" Rita asked. Zedd scanned the Earth and saw something.  
  
"We'll turn that blender into a monster!" Rita looked at him as he raised his staff and blasted a blender with his magic. The resulting creature didn't look as silly as it sounded though; with whirring blades that could tear up nearly anything and a nasty attitude, Blendatron looked quite capable of dealing with the Rangers. "Arise, Blendratron, and destroy the Blue Ranger!"  
  
"Yes, Lord Zedd!" Blendratron sketched a salute to the moon, then teleported away.  
  
* * *  
  
"I'm glad you decided to come," Adam told Billy as they headed for the Youth Center.  
  
"You would have dragged me if I hadn't."  
  
Adam smiled briefly. "You know me too well."  
  
Billy's eyes filled up with tears. "Like I knew... Aura."  
  
Adam sighed. "Want to sit for a while?"  
  
A spreading oak tree became their resting place for a few minutes. Billy looked around, memories of Aura and their all too brief time together rushing into his mind. Tears began to fill his eyes again. "Adam, I might have to leave Angel Grove. There's too many memories around here: memories of her."  
  
Adam had never thought he'd hear Billy say that. Aura's loss was affecting him more than any of the others could imagine. "Where would you go?"  
  
"How about oblivion, Rangers?" They looked up to see a huge monster approaching them, looking like a blender with a bad attitude.  
  
"Oh great, Zedd has got the worst timing!" Adam groaned. Billy's reaction was even worse, though. He growled, so low and so twisted with hate Adam could barely understand him. "Revenge."  
  
A moment later, the Blue Ranger was leaping towards the Blendatron, his Power Lance already out. "Billy?" Adam stared for a moment, then joined Billy, hoping to keep him out of trouble.  
  
"Great, now I'm his baby-sitter!" Adam muttered to himself. He brought his communicator up to his lips. "Guys, we've got a problem!"  
  
"What is it?" it was Tommy who answered.  
  
"I think Billy has gone crazy, we're getting attacked by a blender in the park, you'd better get here!"  
  
The other Rangers appeared a few moments later, and all of them stared at Billy as he attacked the monster furiously. "Billy?" Aisha stared.  
  
"Alpha, teleport Billy back to the Command Center!" Tommy ordered. A moment later, Billy vanished. Tommy turned back to the monster, pulling out Saba.  
  
"I think it's about time you left us alone in our mourning!" he snarled as he attacked the thing that had nearly driven his friend over the edge into madness. Even without Billy, the Rangers were able to defeat the creature, and once it was nothing but dust, their thoughts turned at once to the Blue Ranger.  
  
"Let's get back to the Command Center," Adam suggested. "See if Billy's ok."  
  
"I don't think he is," Tommy sighed. "But let's go."  
  
Billy was unmorphed, and staring at the walls when they got there. Adam called his name softly, but to no avail, he might as well have not even spoken.   
  
"Come on, Billy, talk to us!" Aisha urged.  
  
"Why did you make me leave?" he asked softly, the pain in his voice striking to each of their hearts.  
  
"For your own safety," Tommy told him. "You could've gotten yourself or someone else hurt."  
  
"Don't ever do that again," Billy warned. "I have to do something, and fighting makes me feel better. Zedd and Rita killed Aura. Fighting their monsters makes me feel just a little closer to her, doing what she would be doing."  
  
Adam knew what Billy meant. "Like justice is being served."  
  
Billy nodded. "I think the Tengas are going to be in for a lot of trouble if they attack me again."  
  
Tommy agreed with him. "I think we all feel that way. I'm sorry."  
  
"Just don't do it again," Billy advised.  
  
"I won't promise," Tommy shook his head. "If you get hurt, you're coming here."  
  
Billy sighed. "I won't get hurt. They can't hurt me worse than they already have."  
  
Adam started to say something, got as far as Billy's name, then stopped. His friend looked at him. "What is it, Adam?"  
  
"Nothing," Adam teleported out a moment later. Billy looked where he had stood, then went back to the computers. As he scanned for monsters or Tengas, no one, not even Zordon, noticed the tears dripping from his eyes.  
  
* * *  
  
A week had passed since Aura's death. Kimberly, Zack, Trini, and Jason were once more in Angel Grove, but instead of to meet an old friend, this time they were there to lay one to rest. Without a body, the Robinsons were keeping the Rangers' secret, by having it thought that Aura had died in a plane crash in the high mountains, where no body would ever be recovered.  
  
As the people filed in, Azure glanced around, and saw Adam and the other current Rangers entering. "Why did he have to show up?" she muttered to herself. Jason was sitting behind her, and heard.  
  
"Azure, what's with you? I heard you liked Adam."  
  
"You heard wrong," Azure snapped back.  
  
"It's not his fault!" Jason whispered.  
  
"I wish I could believe you," Azure turned around to face the front again. "But I heard what they said."  
  
The memorial began a few minutes later. As the minister asked for those who wished to speak to do so, Tommy stood up and headed for the front. As he did so, Azure stared, eyes growing even colder and full of hate.  
  
"How dare he!" she snarled. She was out the door, slamming it behind her, followed by Adam a moment later.  
  
* * *  
  
"Azure?" Adam called out. She stopped in her tracks.  
  
"Why did you even bother showing up?" Tears were evident in her voice.  
"Because Aura was my friend!" Adam told her.  
  
"You sure have a funny way of showing it," she said.   
  
"Azure!" Adam cried. "That wasn't us you heard!"  
  
"How can I believe you?" Azure wondered.  
  
"I don't know," Adam sighed. "You have to trust me. We would never have done anything to hurt Aura."  
  
"I trusted you: once." Azure began to walk away.  
  
"Azure, please!" Adam cried out. "It was the evil duplicates that Zedd made!"  
  
Azure turned, hate and sorrow mixed and flashing in her eyes. "I don't believe you. I'm sorry."  
  
As she ran away crying, Adam called out her name and almost followed her. He turned around to see Jason standing there behind him.   
  
"Give her time," was his suggestion.  
  
"I hope so," Adam groaned. "She doesn't believe me, I told her about the duplicates."  
  
"From what I remember of Azure, she's as stubborn as Zedd is an idiot."  
  
Adam grinned a trifle. "You're right, on both counts. But Zedd was right about one thing."  
  
"What?" Jason raised an eyebrow.  
  
"I'd bet anything he's counting on this to tear the Rangers apart, and at least where Billy's concerned, it's happening."  
  
Jason frowned. "Want to tell me about this?" Adam quickly filled him in on what had been going on. When he was done, Jason looked just as worried as Adam was. "Man, Billy's going to get someone hurt with that attitude. Have you told the others?"  
  
"Zack, Trini, Kim, no," Adam shook his head. "But the others already know."  
  
"Maybe we should hold off telling them for now. Maybe later tonight. Come on, before people start looking for us."  
  
As Adam headed back inside with Jason, he glanced over in the direction Azure had run in. "She'll be fine," was Jason's comment.  
  
"I hope so," Adam sighed. "I really hope so."  
  
* * *  
  
After the memorial, the Rangers and ex-Rangers, except for Billy, gathered in the Command Center. "Adam, why don't you tell them what you told me before?" Jason suggested. It didn't take very long, but when it was over, eyes were wide all over the fortress.  
  
"Man, Billy's gone off the deep end!" Zack whistled in surprise.  
  
Kim nodded. "We all knew he and Aura were in love, even back when she moved to New York... "  
  
"It's been going on that long?" Rocky wondered. Trini nodded.  
  
"But we never thought losing her would do his to him."  
  
Kim shrugged. "Those two were an item from the day they met, they just didn't know it."  
  
"There must be something we can do to help him!" Zack insisted. Jason shook his head.  
  
"The only thing I can think of is to turn back time, and we can't do that."  
  
As they discussed different ways to help Billy, they were surprised to see Azure teleport in suddenly. There was evidence of recent tears on her face as she asked, "Is this a private wake or can anyone join in?"  
  
"Azure!" Adam leaped to his feet and stepped towards her, then stopped. Azure went straight to him and hugged him.  
  
"I'm sorry," she whispered. Adam hugged her back.  
  
"Oh Azure, what made you change your mind?"  
  
Azure glanced at Jason. "Let's just say a certain Ranger talked to my father, and he kind of talked some sense into me."  
  
Adam kissed her gently. "Zedd planned on this destroying us all. We can't let him do that." He snapped his fingers suddenly. "That's it!"  
  
"That's what?" Azure frowned. Adam glanced at the others.  
  
"In the state Billy's in, he'd do anything to get back at Rita and Zedd, right?" Jason nodded, as did the others.  
  
"Even act like a normal person?"  
  
Kim frowned. "I think you lost me!"  
  
Adam explained. "Zedd wanted to destroy our 'team spirit' if you will, and Billy's doing that fairly well, being so depressed and insane over Aura's death, right?"  
  
Tommy and the others all agreed; it was ruining them all. "What better revenge could Billy have than to not be depressed and insane?"  
  
"I get it," Azure said suddenly. "Kind of like if someone constantly teases you, you just smile and be friendly to them?"  
  
Adam nodded. "Right, and I think Billy will go for this, at least I hope he will."  
  
"What do you say we get him here?" Zack suggested. Adam headed for the teleportation panel, and a moment later, Billy stood among them.  
  
"Yeah, what is it?" he looked eager to fight. "Monster? Tengas?"  
  
"A better way at revenge," Zack told him.  
  
"Revenge?" Billy glanced eagerly around. "Talk to me." Adam once more found himself explaining something. Billy closed his eyes, thinking the concept through. Finally, he smiled: the first smile they'd seen since they had seen Kalakan explode. "I like it."  
  
"He's back!" Azure laughed a little as she turned to the others. "Guys, I'd just like to say now, I'm sorry for my behavior recently, it was uncalled for. I should have believed you."  
  
"It's ok, we understand Azure," Tommy reassured her.  
  
"Zordon, I'd like to do something for Aura here in the Command Center, a memorial plaque perhaps," Billy suggested.  
  
IT IS ALREADY DONE. ALPHA, PLEASE GIVE IT TO BILLY. Alpha held out a wooden box that Billy opened. Inside was a polished amber plaque. Inscribed on it was:  
  
_Aura Robinson  
  
A true hero  
  
A true friend  
  
A true sister  
  
A true love.  
  
May she rest at last in peace.  
  
_Azure looked at the plaque, and touched it gently. "Good-bye, dear sister. You, more than anyone I know, have earned your rest."  
  
A flash of light startled them all, and they looked up to see a glass case, enclosing a perfect replica of Aura's Amber Ranger uniform, in the back of the Command Center. Billy placed the plaque on the case and looked at it. Tears glittered in his eyes as he spoke his tribute to the woman he loved so much.  
  
"Good-bye, Aura. I love you, always." 

**The End**


	7. Reborn Amber

**Reborn Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

Billy Cranston woke up in the thin gray dawn light and stared at the ceiling. He knew without having to look at a calendar or clock what today was. It was the exact six month anniversary of a day he wished devoutly had never happened. He turned in bed to look at the photo on his nightstand.   
  
It showed himself standing next to a young woman with long, dark hair and gray eyes. A smile lit up both their faces, and from the expression and general attitude, nothing could have went wrong to spoil their happiness together.   
  
A tear splashed onto the photo, blotting out the woman's face. He took a deep breath and wiped the tear away. "Another day without you, Aura," he whispered to the picture. "Six months to the day since I lost you. All because of Rita and Zedd."   
  
The other Rangers had thought for months he'd gotten out of the depression he'd sunk into after her death. They were wrong. He hadn't dated anyone since then, and he knew he never would again. There was only Aura for him; he'd known that for as long as he could remember. Without her, he had nothing.   
  
After a quick shower and dressing, he went to his garage. He'd made up his mind weeks earlier what he would do today. He just couldn't go on any longer. His nerves had been stretched to the breaking point already, and the recent escalation of attacks by Rita and Zedd had only increased it.   
  
Before Aura's death, even before her return to Angel Grove, they'd sent down monsters every couple of days. Now, monsters twice and three times a day weren't an uncommon occurrence, and the Rangers could hardly leave their houses without getting jumped by Rito, Goldar, and a few dozen Tengas. It was obvious that with Aura gone, Rita and Zedd felt the Rangers were going to be much easier prey.   
  
And so far, it seemed to be working. During the short time they'd known her, all the Rangers had become friends with Aura, and her death had devastated them utterly. It wasn't easy to fight when you knew the thing you were up against was sent by those who had so easily distracted and killed someone close to you.   
  
It was worse for Billy than for any of them. He had loved Aura, he still loved her, and would until the day he died. He chuckled to himself as he thought that.   
  
_The day I die. How appropriate that phrase is today. After all, today is the day I'm going to die._   
  
He'd never really considered suicide before. Not seriously, anyway. Not until he'd seen Kalakan explode under the onslaught of Serpentera, not until he'd realized he'd lost the most important person in his life. But now, he knew he couldn't go on anymore.   
  
Billy knew he was leaving the Rangers without a Blue Ranger; and he honestly didn't care anymore. He'd done his best, he'd stuck with them for six months, fighting to spite Rita and Zedd. But he'd done all he could. Without Aura, nothing, not fighting, not science, not martial arts, not his friends, nothing mattered.   
  
He quietly wrote out his note. It was simple and to the point. He quietly read it over and sighed.   
  
_Dear Everyone,   
  
Life meant nothing to me without Aura. I lasted as long as I could, but I can't go on anymore. I'm sorry. Good-bye.   
  
Billy Cranston_   
  
  
  
He took a deep breath. It was time. He wondered briefly who would be the one to find his body. His parents, one of the other Rangers, maybe even Azure. Azure. She'd had Adam to lean on during the past six months, once she'd learned the real Rangers hadn't had anything to do with Aura's death. He wished the two of them the best of luck in the future.   
  
Sitting on the counter in his lab was a vial of poison. It would be quick and painless, much like he hoped Aura's death had been. He made sure to put the note right where it would be easily found, then picked up the vial.   
  
"It's been too long, Aura. It was too long the minute I saw Kalakan explode. But I'm finally coming to join you," he pulled the stopper out of the vial and took another deep breath, then brought the vial to his lips.   
  
"Hey, Billy!" it was Adam!! Billy quickly stopped up the vial and put it and the note out of sight. The poison wouldn't kill him fast enough if Adam was as close as he sounded. He plastered a fake smile on his face as his friend came closer.   
  
"Morning, Adam," Billy greeted him, turning on his computer and starting to work on something that hopefully looked so complicated Adam would just leave.   
  
"Morning, Billy," Adam smiled at him. "Came by to see how you're doing today."   
  
_How am I doing? It's been six months to the day since Aura died, and you're asking me how I'm doing? I'm living a nightmare, that's how I'm doing, one I was going to end when you came up! Can't a guy even die in peace?_ Billy thought enraged. All he said out loud was, "As well as can be expected considering what today is."   
  
Adam nodded. "Are you going to the graveyard? Pay respects or something like that?"   
  
_Actually I was considering more like going to the graveyard to be buried next to her._ "I'd thought about it. But I'm still not sure if I can face that gravestone. It would be almost as if I were forgetting her forever."   
  
"It wouldn't be like that, Billy," Adam tried to reassure him. "Not like that at all."   
  
"How can you be sure?" Billy whispered, the raw emotion evident in his voice. "How can you say that it won't be like that?"   
  
"I can't," Adam shook his head. "But. . ."   
  
Whatever else Adam was going to say was lost as their communicators suddenly beeped. Adam sighed. "Looks like this conversation's going to have to wait. What is it, Zordon?"   
  
IT APPEARS RITA AND ZEDD HAVE BEGUN EARLY THIS MORNING, RANGERS. THEIR LATEST EVIL CREATION HAS BEGUN TO TEAR UP THE AREA AROUND THE LAKE; PLEASE TELEPORT THERE AT ONCE.   
  
"On the way, Zordon," Adam looked at Billy who glanced for a second at something near his computer. "You ready?"   
  
"Guess I have to be," he sighed reluctantly. I_'ll wait till tonight. To this afternoon, to the exact moment Kalakan exploded six months ago. It's more fitting. Sorry, Aura, you'll have to wait a little bit longer. But I'm still coming to meet you._   
  
"It's morphin' time!" Adam cried, pulling out his morpher. "Black Ranger Power!"   
  
"Blue Ranger Power!" Billy didn't say it with quite his usual enthusiasm. _Amber Ranger Power!_ he thought quietly. _I'll never hear that again._   
  
* * *   
  
"Oh, this is just too sweet!" Rita laughed harshly. "Zeddy, you'll never believe what just happened! Or rather, what _almost_ just happened!"   
  
"Don't bother me, Rita!" Zedd brushed her away. "The Rangers are about to meet defeat!"   
  
"Zedd!" Rita screeched. "The Blue Ranger came this close to committing suicide!"   
  
Her husband whirled on her in obvious surprise. "You're joking! Why would he do something like that?"   
  
Rita smiled cruelly. "Because today is six months to the day that you destroyed Kalakan: and the Amber Ranger along with it! He's still heartbroken!"   
  
"Oh, how sweet!" Zedd chuckled. "And how stupid! What stopped him? Did he chicken out at the last moment?"   
  
Rita shook her head. "No, mores the pity. The Black Ranger showed up and apparently Billy didn't want any interference!"   
  
"Let's hope he doesn't get interrupted again," Zedd hissed. "One less Ranger is _always_ good! Now, let me see how our monster is doing!"   
  
* * *   
  
"Oh, man, this isn't good!" Tommy grunted as he was thrown into the lake. The monster had the usual army of Tengas with it, and things just were going from bad to worse it seemed.   
  
"When did they start getting stronger?" Adam wheezed as he recovered from a viscous strike by the creature, which looked like a cross between an angry hairbrush, a crab, and a hedgehog.   
  
"They've _been_ getting stronger over the past six months, ever since Aura died!" Billy could only speak her name in combat without choking up; he fought every fight with her on his mind, struck every blow in her honor and memory.   
  
Rocky dropped from the tree he'd been thrown into and landed hard on his knees. "Someone tell this thing that the good guys always win, please!"   
  
"I don't think it would believe me," Tommy coughed up some water as he climbed out of the lake.   
  
"Tell me about it," Kat muttered as she and Aisha managed to escape from a pile of Tengas. Everyone headed back together, hurting in various places.   
  
"Things just haven't seen the same since Aura. . . ," Aisha broke off as she noticed the pain that caused Billy, even through his uniform.   
  
"We need help," was all Billy said, though, as the monster and it's attendant Tengas surrounded them. "Serious help." _We need Aura. That's all there is to it. It's not just me. Even though I'm going to die, they still need help._   
  
"Time for you all to pay for daring to stand between Rita, Zedd, and the destruction of this world!" the monster bellowed at them. "Time for you all to die!"   
  
"I swear, you monsters always use the same atrocious dialogue! Why don't you hire a new writer; there's got to be some more inventive way to threaten your enemies!"   
  
Everyone, Rangers, monsters, and Tengas, looked towards that calm, impossible voice. Leaning against a tree, arms folded, gray eyes sparkling, dark hair impeccably brushed, in clothes like none they'd ever seen before, was someone who was either a ghost, a clone, or a total illusion. Of them all, Billy was the first to recover, amazingly.   
  
"A-Aura?" he stammered. "No, you're dead, it can't be you!"   
  
"Of course it's me!" she smiled, that same smile he knew so well, that he'd known from childhood. She pulled out a small device from somewhere and spoke into it in a language they couldn't understand. A moment later, a light came from above, blasting the still-startled monster into dust. Aura put the device away and came over to Billy. "Who else would it be?"   
  
"Au. . Aura?" Billy stared. "You're dead!" was all it seemed Billy could say. Aura wrapped an arm around him and pulled him into a deep and loving kiss. When they finally pulled apart, he stared at her. "You're alive!"   
  
Aura smiled, then turned to the others. "Sorry about having my mother zap that monster for you, but you looked like you could use the help, and that's all I can do now, I guess."   
  
Tommy shook his head in surprise. "Aura. . . what are you talking about? Your mother? She's at home, isn't she? Do your parents know you're. . . back yet? Where have you _been_ for six months, anyway?"   
  
"Has it been that long?" Aura sighed. "So hard to tell in space."   
  
"Aura," a gentle voice, quite unlike anything they'd ever heard before, but one that sounded amazingly like Aura's own, spoke. Their seemingly reborn friend turned to where it came from. A tall woman, of middle-age, but with hair and eyes that mirrored Aura's, joined them. "Are these those of whom you spoke so glowingly?"   
  
Aura nodded. "Mother, these are the Power Rangers. Tommy, Aisha, Adam, Kat, Rocky, and Billy. They're just about the best batch of friends it's possible for a person to have. I was angry at them about six months ago, but you know how that ended, and why," she then looked at the Rangers. "Guys, this is Shaya, my mother."   
  
"M. . mother?" raised eyebrows and almost identical looks of disbelief were on every face. "Y-your mother?" Kat finally stuttered out.   
  
Aura nodded. "I've got some explaining to do, I know. And I want to do it all at once, so I want to wait till we can get Mom and Dad and Azure at the Command Center first. I'm guessing you guys told them _something_ about my disappearance."   
  
Aisha nodded. "We told them the truth; they've kept our secret and Rita and Zedd haven't bothered them."   
  
Aura smiled. "I'm glad; I've worried about them."   
  
"You worried about everyone," Shaya spoke. "Rangers, I cannot stay here long, but I wish to meet Aura's Earth-parents and sister."   
  
"Excuse me, ma'am," Rocky asked. "But. . .if I remember, didn't that message or whatever in Aura's necklace say that her name was Alaina? Not Aura. . . how come you're not calling her that?"   
  
"Because I convinced her not to," Aura chuckled. Shaya smiled in return.   
  
"Because you wouldn't answer to it, you mean!" she teased gently. "But I'm just glad we met in the first place. It doesn't matter what I call you."   
  
"Ma'am," Tommy began, only to be cut off by her.   
  
"My name is Shaya, Tommy," she told him. "Please, call me that."   
  
"Shaya," he began again. "According to Zordon, Neras, Aura's natural father, died over fifty thousand years ago. If you're her mother. . .how have you lived this long?"   
  
"I am. . .or I was, a sorceress of Kalakan, drawing my powers and my life from the existence of Kalakan, in much the same way that the Amber Rangers of Kalakan drew theirs. I was able to live because the Spirit of Kalakan supported me. For fifty thousand years, I was the only person alive on my world," tears shone in Shaya's eyes as she remembered. "I waited and watched for my daughter to return, and at last, she did."   
  
Aura smiled a little sadly. "We'll tell them _everything_ when we have Mom, Dad, and Azure at the Command Center; it's the safest place to speak."   
  
Shaya nodded. "I wish to meet them. They raised a daughter I am very proud to call both theirs and mine."   
  
Aura blushed lightly, then turned to Billy. "Want to come with us?"   
  
"With all my heart," Billy sighed happily. _Looks like that vial of poison's going to have to be gotten rid of: and not the way I'd planned on it. Not that I mind. I don't think I could've really done it anyway. And now, I'm glad I don't have any reasons to anymore._   
  
* * *   
  
"NO! This isn't possible!" Zedd hadn't been this angry in half a year. He'd seen it, but he hadn't believed it! A small spacecraft had appeared out of literally nowhere, teleported someone down to Earth, right in the middle of the battle, then had destroyed his monster with a single laser beam! He'd tried to destroy it himself, only to find it was protected with some type of shield he couldn't break.   
  
"This can't be happening!" Rita groaned. Zedd was even more furious than she was as he saw Aura greeting her friends.   
  
"She can't be alive; I saw the planet blow up, she couldn't have had time to leave it!"   
  
"Well, what is that, a ghost?" Rita snarled. This was more than maddening; what did it take to kill that girl?   
  
"Why not, when we were so close to beating them?" Zedd roared. He looked back down to Earth, and his eyes would have been wide with shock if that were possible. "So, she's still alive. That's how Aura survived; her mother saved her!"   
  
Rita snorted. "Family love. How sickening."   
  
Zedd's mind was already working it's evil thoughts. "If we capture her, and the Robinsons, Aura will have no choice but to surrender: and _die!_"   
  
As Zedd outlined his plot, Rita laughed. "That disgusting love of hers will prove to be her downfall! You should never have come back to Earth, Amber Ranger!"   
  
* * *   
  
While Tommy and the others teleported back to the Command Center to fill in Alpha and Zordon on Aura's return, she, Shaya, and Billy headed for the Robinson home. They could've just teleported there, but it had been so long since Aura had felt true sunlight and wind, she'd just had to walk there.   
  
"Aura," Billy's heart was singing with joy as they walked along through the park. "Can't you at least tell me what happened that last day? When you. . .left?"   
  
"I can, but I won't," Aura teased. "I told you, I'm saving everything until we're all together. I don't want to have to tell the story more than once."   
  
She gave him a light kiss on the cheek. "But I will tell you this: I love you, Billy Cranston, and will for all time, until death and beyond."   
  
"And I love you, Aura Robinson," he kissed her back: on the lips. They remained that way for a few minutes, touching lip to lip, heart to heart, as both had longed for half a year to do. Billy's depression and suicidal tendencies were gone as if they had never been. Aura's uncertainty and insecurity about her alien heritage had also vanished; he could tell.   
  
Shaya hated to interrupt them; she knew very well how much her daughter loved Billy, but this had to be done. "_Tengas!_"   
  
Both of them looked up. "What?" Indeed, Tengas were all around them. It was too early in the morning, luckily, for many people to be in the park so Billy ninja-morphed at once. He glanced over to see Aura backed up against her mother, fighting the Tengas off unmorphed.   
  
"Aura, you're going to need your powers, you'd better morph!" he couldn't wait to once more see that Amber uniform in action, on his side, as he'd dreamed of for the past six months. What he didn't expect was the sudden look of pain that crossed her face as he mentioned morphing. "Aura, what's wrong, we don't have time to play around!"   
  
Whatever was bothering her, Billy didn't have time to find out, as he was suddenly engulfed by near two dozen Tengas. He fought them off, using every Ninja trick and ability he had, and even discovering a couple of new ones. He couldn't spare a single glance for Aura or Shaya, until realizing that the Tengas were gone. Aura was on her knees a short distance away, and there was no sign of Shaya.   
  
"Aura?" he powered down and came over to her quickly. "Aura, what's wrong?"   
  
"Billy. . .the Tengas. . .they took Shaya. . .they took my mother!" she stared at him, tears flowing down her cheeks. Billy couldn't believe his ears.   
  
"Aura, why didn't you morph?" he had to ask. He also couldn't understand why she hadn't done something so simple, that once she'd done by sheer instinct alone.   
  
"I. . .I can't morph," she whispered, lowering her head. Billy's eyes widened.   
  
"Aura, what are you saying?"   
  
"It's one of those things I was hoping not to have to tell until everyone was all together," she whispered. She shook her head, her tears vanishing as quickly as they came, then got to her feet. "We've got to get to the house, Rita and Zedd must know I'm back, they've got to be after my family!"   
  
She headed straight for the Robinson house, Billy hot on her heels. Her announcement had stunned him; but he understood one thing in it's entirety: Aura's family was in danger, therefore he had a job to do.   
  
* * *   
  
"Hello?" Azure picked up the phone to find Adam on the other end. Her joy was tempered only by the remembrance of what had happened six months earlier.   
  
"Hey, there," Adam greeted her. "Look, the other Rangers and I are having a sort of memorial at the Command Center this afternoon. We're even teleporting in Jason, Zack, Trini, and Kim. We were wondering if you and your parents could make it."   
  
Azure closed her eyes, her heart aching with the remembrance of her sister. But still, it was fitting she be honored and never forgotten. She glanced over at her parents.   
  
"Hey, Mom, Dad?" she asked. As soon as she had their attention, she continued, "They're having a memorial for Aura at the Command Center; they want to know if we want to come."   
  
Mr. and Mrs. Robinson exchanged glances, then her dad nodded. "When do they want us there?"   
  
Azure relayed the question to Adam, who replied, "We'll let you know, we have to get everything ready and I'll call again. Glad you guys can make it."   
  
Azure sighed. "I still miss her so much, Adam. I keep expecting to turn around and see her there."   
  
"I know how you feel," Adam told her. "I've got to go, sweetie, I'll call back soon. I love you."   
  
"I love you, too," Azure sighed as she started to hang the phone up. Her sigh became a shriek when Tengas were suddenly everywhere in their house. "_Adam!_"   
  
"Azure?" Adam clutched at the phone, then hit his communicator, teleporting straight to the Robinson house. He arrived just in time to see Azure and her parents vanishing in a swirl of black Tenga feathers. "_No!!_"   
  
"Adam, what is it?" Aura and Billy ran up just then. "Azure. . my parents. . .what's happened?"   
  
"Tengas," Adam growled. "Tengas took them!"   
  
"Not them too!" Aura's eyes flashed with rage. Adam stared at her.   
  
"Too?" then he noticed something: Shaya wasn't with them. His eyes widened. "Shaya?"   
  
Aura nodded. "Come on, we've got to get back to the Command Center. It's the only way to help them."   
  
* * *   
  
  
  
"Welcome back, Azure. It has been a long six months, hasn't it?" Zedd glared evilly at the trembling girl. Azure huddled next to her parents, her heart pounding.   
  
"Not long enough," she snapped back. It was Zedd who had controlled Aura when she'd nearly killed Adam, Zedd who had destroyed Kalakan while Aura was on it, Zedd who had killed Aura! She hated this being with all her heart. "Eternity wouldn't have been long enough!"   
  
"Now, now, now, is that anyway to treat an old friend?" Zedd would have been smiling if he'd been capable of it.   
  
"You're the one who killed Aura! You destroyed her home planet!" Mr. Robinson stared at this thing that had killed his daughter. "What do you want from us?"   
  
"What else can you do to us?" his wife asked wearily. She had been having bad dreams for weeks of her daughter, of the grief and sorrow and loneliness Aura had felt during her death. This was just an extension of those dreams, she felt: to see the being that had caused Aura's death.   
  
"To you three," Zedd spared a glance for the three adults. "A quick death will be your fate: after you see what I have planned for young Azure here."   
  
Azure trembled as her mother put an arm around her. "Leave her alone, you. . .you. . . you _thing!_"   
  
"What are you talking about, Zedd?" the stranger woman asked. Her voice and face seemed familiar to Azure, but she couldn't think of where she might have seen or heard her before. "What more harm can you do these poor people?"   
  
Zedd's reply sent Azure into fits of trembling and shaking. "She will face Goldar in the ring tomorrow at dawn! Unarmed and alone, she will fight my mightiest warrior!"   
  
"_No!_" Azure's cry echoed. "Please, no!"   
  
"Oh, but yes," Zedd left them alone to muse over that. "If I were you, little girl, I'd rest. You're going to need all your strength."   
  
Azure collapsed against her mother and father both, dissolving into tears. "I can't win," she whispered. "There's no way I can win. I'm going to die."   
  
An unfamiliar hand tipped her head up; and she found herself looking into eyes as gray as clouds. So like her sister's were they she found herself whispering Aura's name. "No, I am not Aura," the strange woman smiled. "My name is Shaya."   
  
"What are you doing here?" Mr. Robinson asked. "I mean, why did Zedd take you? For that matter, why are we here?"   
  
Shaya sighed. _I wish I could tell you that this is for Aura's sake: to trap her in Zedd's hold once more. But Aura herself wishes to tell these she loves that she is alive. I will say what I can, though._ "I am a threat to Zedd's plans against the Rangers, one that he must take care of. As for you, I believe he plans delayed vengeance against one known once as the Amber Ranger."   
  
"Aura," Azure whispered. "He must want to get rid of her whole family."   
  
Shaya bit her lip, unwilling to say more. She smiled a little at the Robinsons. "The Power Rangers know already of where we are, and will be here as soon as they can."   
  
"I hope they get here before tomorrow," Azure couldn't believe she was going to have to fight Goldar. Aura had told her once of how strong he was, and of how he'd beaten her before. She trembled again as she thought of the evil pleasure in Zedd's voice as he'd told her of her fate. _Oh, Adam. . .if only you were here with me. . ._   
  
* * *   
  
"Aura?" Jason, Zack, Trini, and Kim stared at her as she paced nervously up and down the Command Center. "They told us you were dead!"   
  
"Yeah, I know," Aura snapped. "I'll explain _everything_ once we've got my family back. Any ideas how to do that, yet, Billy?"   
  
"Yeah, that's Aura," Zack nodded. There was simply no mistaking her fierce family love for anything but what it was.   
  
The Blue Ranger shook his head. "Nothing yet, Aura. Rita and Zedd have some sort of barrier up around the palace, I can't penetrate it."   
  
Aura began to pace again. "Even if you could, what good would I be?" she muttered. "I'm not a Ranger anymore."   
  
"Aura?" it was Tommy; stepping into her path as she paced. "Aura, what happened? How'd you lose your powers?"   
  
Aura looked around at them all; they were all concerned for her and for her family. Her gaze landed on Adam; he was at least as much of an emotional wreck as she herself was, but for different reasons. They deserved to know this much at least.   
  
"It happened when Kalakan exploded," she said dully. She lifted her chin to show that her amber pendent was gone. "The amber vanished at the same time. My powers and my necklace were both linked to Kalakan's existence. The moment it died, so did the Amber Ranger: forever."   
  
All of them, Rangers and former Rangers, closed around Aura in that moment, as tears she'd held in for six months suddenly spilled over. She held onto Billy, shaking with tears. "I couldn't even help my mother. . .like she helped me. She saved my life on Kalakan, she had a spaceship ready the moment I got there; I didn't even have time to ask who she was until Kalakan was gone. And it hurt to feel my world die, it hurt in ways I can't even begin to describe."   
  
EVEN THOUGH YOU WERE UNAWARE OF IT, YOU WERE LINKED TO THE SPIRIT OF KALAKAN FROM THE MOMENT OF YOUR BIRTH. THAT IS WHY YOU WERE ABLE TO BECOME THE AMBER RANGER PREVIOUSLY, EVEN THOUGH YOU WERE ON EARTH.   
  
Aura looked up at Zordon, tears shining on her cheeks. "I'd give anything to be able to help my family. In any way possible. No matter what it takes."   
  
"Even if it costs you your life?" a moment later, a blue-armored figure stood there. Aura, Zack, Trini, and Jason stared with wide eyes, while the Rangers and Kim welcomed him with a heartfelt, "Ninjor!"   
  
WHY HAVE YOU COME, NINJOR? The tone in Zordon's voice said he knew very well why, however.   
  
"Aura Robinson, I presume? Also known as Alaina of Kalakan?" Ninjor turned right to the former Amber Ranger. She nodded in amazed awe. "You were once the Amber Ranger. . .and you can be again."   
  
"What?" Aura's awe turned to shock. "That's not possible, Kalakan is dead!"   
  
"True," Ninjor nodded his agreement. "But Earth is not."   
  
"What do you mean?"   
  
DO YOU KNOW WHERE THE POWER OF THE AMBER RANGER COMES FROM, AURA? Zordon asked gently. Aura shook her head.   
  
"I do know that it was extremely painful when Kalakan blew up," she remembered. "But. . .my mother didn't seem to feel it nearly as much as I did."   
  
"That's because you were linked to the Spirit of Kalakan, and when she died with that world, a part of you died as well," Ninjor explained. "Every Amber Ranger since your first ancestor was linked to Kalakan's Spirit."   
  
"And now I'm not," Aura sighed.   
  
TRUE, Zordon agreed. BUT YOU CAN BECOME CONNECTED TO THE SPIRIT OF EARTH.   
  
"What?" Aura stared first at Ninjor, then at Zordon. The Ninja Master nodded.   
  
"The Spirit of Earth has searched for many centuries for someone to bond to in the same fashion that you and your family were bonded to the Spirit of Kalakan. No one has been suitable, though, until now. You may be the one she's been looking for."   
  
Aura stared. "I'm not from Earth. . .I'm from another planet altogether!"   
  
"That has nothing to do with your suitability as her bonded warrior," Ninjor told her. "Do you wish to try? I warn you now, if she finds you are not what she seeks, it could cost you your life."   
  
Aura closed her eyes and bit her lip in thought. _My life. My parents and Azure already think I'm dead. I have to help them, though. I have to get them all out of there. If I don't at least try. . .I couldn't live with myself._   
  
She looked at Ninjor. "I'll try. I have to try. Where do I begin?"   
  
"With the power of Ninja," the ancient master seemed to be smiling. "You must learn your Spirit Guardian before going on to seek the Spirit of Earth."   
  
"Then let's get started."   
  
* * *   
  
"You should get some sleep," Jessica Robinson glanced up into the strange face of the woman Shaya. She sighed a little.   
  
"I know. . .but how can I sleep?" she settled back against the wall. "My oldest daughter was killed by this thing, Zedd, and my youngest is going to have to fight that thing, Goldar tomorrow."   
  
Shaya sighed in her own turn. "Jessica, tell me of your daughter. Of Aura. What. . .was she like?"   
  
"Why do you ask?" Jessica wondered. This woman was so strange, and she even looked a bit like Aura, with the same dark hair and gray eyes. . .   
  
It took Shaya a few moments to answer. "Because I once had a daughter. I was forced to give her up, though everything in me said not to. My beloved, her father, died soon after she was born, and I longed all my life to meet my child again."   
  
Jessica closed her eyes, thinking of Aura. "Her name was Aura Lynn Robinson, and she was seventeen. She was very beautiful, at least to me. She looked a little like you, with the same hair and eyes. She loved to learn things, she was very intelligent. She was a fighter, I always knew that. But there were things I didn't know about her, things that I found out she didn't even know about herself."   
  
"Like what?" Jessica found herself telling Shaya about the Rangers, about Aura's alien origin, about her death.   
  
"And if you had your daughter here before you now, what would you say or do?" Shaya wondered. There were tears gleaming in her gray eyes. It had not been easy for her to keep Aura's secret, but she'd done so. She wanted so much to tell this good woman that her daughter lived still.   
  
"I would hold her forever, and tell her how much I love her," was Jessica's quick reply. "But that can't happen."   
  
Shaya's lips twitched; she wanted to tell her so badly. Finally, she settled for, "Miracles do happen, Jessica. Perhaps one day, you will have your wish granted, and will be able to see your daughter again."   
  
Jessica smiled a little. "And perhaps one day, you will see yours again too."   
  
"Perhaps," the former sorceress sighed. "Let's get some rest; I believe we shall be rescued tomorrow."   
  
"I hope so," Jessica gently stroked the sleeping Azure's hair. "I hope she'll be all right. Whoever rescues us had better do it soon, I don't want her to have to fight that thing Goldar."   
  
"Miracles happen," was all Shaya said in return.   
  
* * *   
  
"Zedd, where are you?" Rita screeched. "Where is that chrome-faced idiot when I need him?"   
  
She stormed throughout the palace looking for him, finally locating Zedd in, of all places, the library. "Zedd, what are you doing in here?"   
  
He held a large book in front of him, and there was an air of strange pleasedness about him. "Rita, I've just discovered some very, very good news!"   
  
"What are you talking about?" she stared at him in disbelief. She hadn't even known he could read!   
  
"It appears, Rita, that the Amber Ranger is in effect, no more," he was actually laughing! She frowned.   
  
"What are you talking about? Explain yourself!"   
  
"The family line of the Amber Rangers was magically bonded to the Spirit of Kalakan," Zedd told her. "It was that bond that gave them their powers. When I destroyed Kalakan, I destroyed the bond: and the Amber Ranger powers! Aura has no powers anymore! She's not a Ranger!"   
  
Rita's foul laughter filled the room. "Well, well, well, imagine that! She was even more of a fool to return to Earth then!"   
  
"Indeed she was!" Zedd agreed. "We'll send the demand for her surrender once Goldar has taken care of that brat sister of hers. No need to deprive him of his pleasure!"   
  
* * *   
  
"Where are we?" Aura looked around the beautiful garden she found herself and Ninjor in. The entire place crackled with energy of a strange, but not frightening, type.   
  
"This is the Temple of Power," he told her. "But your quest begins inside: both inside here and inside yourself."   
  
He led her into the fog-filled interior and bade her close her eyes. "Close your eyes and concentrate. Older than time itself, man has always known the calling. Light of light, strength of the soul, ignite this eternal power inside of me. I am Ninja! I am pure of heart, body, mind, and spirit. Join with me now as I become one with the power of Ninja!"   
  
As Ninjor chanted the old mantra, Aura found herself turning deep within herself. She felt herself soaring, rising on what felt like wings. _What am I doing? What's going on here?   
  
_She looked down to see an endless expanse of nothing but sky and air all around her. _Oh, this is wonderful! I'm flying! Without a plane, without a Zord, it's just me!_   
  
It took her only a second to realize it was. . .and it wasn't her. She was Aura. . .but not in the body she had worn all her life. Instead she was small and compact, with wings of light and eyes that swept the world with staggering sharpness.   
  
_What am I?_ Even as her mind formed the question, she knew what she was, what she had always been, what she would always be. I_ am Aura. I am. . .the Hawk!   
  
_As the realization poured through her, she found herself back in Ninjor's temple, back in her own body. She wore a ninja outfit like the Earth Rangers did in ninja-morph, in a delicate light brown reminiscent of her Amber Ranger uniform. She could feel a new connection inside of her soul, something that had been forged while she was in her trance. When she 'reached' for it mentally, she felt a whisper as of wings and endless flight. _It's my animal spirit. The Hawk._   
  
"Aura," Ninjor called her name. "I can give you no more than your Ninja-powers, you must go on to the Heart of Earth to reach the Spirit of Earth. From here on, you are on your own."   
  
"Thank you, Ninjor," Aura told him. "Thank you with all my heart."   
  
* * *   
  
"Time to wake up!" the Robinsons and Shaya were rudely awakened by the screeching of Tengas to see Goldar glowering at them through the bars. Azure leaped back with a little yelp of fear. "And a good. . .final. . .morning to you, too."   
  
Azure trembled in her mother's arms as the door to the cell was swung open. Goldar gestured towards them. "Time to fight. . .and die, little girl. Your sister's not here to save you this time!"   
  
Azure stared helplessly at her parents, then felt Shaya's hand on her shoulder and heard a warm voice in her ear. "Fight with honor, Azure Robinson. You can do this."   
  
She turned to look at the older woman, fear evident in her eyes. "I don't know if I can."   
  
"You can," Shaya reassured her. "I believe in you."   
  
"That's just too sweet!" Goldar laughed coldly and grabbed Azure out of the cell. "We've got an appointment in the arena!"   
  
The Tengas surged in, seizing the Robinsons and Shaya. "And you all get the honor of watching her die!"   
  
"You. . .you _monster!_" Mrs. Robinson screamed. "Leave me at least one child!"   
  
"Never!" Goldar replied. "My master killed Aura, and now I will finish the job by killing this little brat!"   
  
Screaming and fighting all the way, they were dragged into the arena: and Azure Robinson began the fight of her life.   
  
* * *   
  
"No sign of Aura or any word on her family," Adam paced up and down the Command Center, trying to distract himself and failing miserably. They had all spent a sleepless and worry-filled night, despite Zordon having ordered them all home not longer after Aura had left on her quest.   
  
Billy shook his head, though Adam hadn't really been asking a question. Joy and despair warred within him; he hadn't believed his ears when Ninjor had told them that Aura would die if the Spirit of Earth didn't accept her oath. _What will I do if she. . .no, I won't even think about that, it was stupid of me to even consider it in the first place. She won't die, and neither will I. Even if she does, I can go on. . .I hope._   
  
Adam caught his gaze suddenly. "Billy. . .do you remember, back when Aura had captured us all, and Azure? Goldar said he was going to use Azure as a 'punching bag'. Do. . .do you think he'll hurt her now that Aura isn't there to stop him?"   
  
As Adam let his worries out, Billy remembered the evil gleam in Goldar's eyes as the winged warrior had made his threats towards Azure. "I don't know, Adam. I really don't know."   
  
Billy's eyes flickered briefly to the back of the Command Center, where the replica of Aura's costume no longer stood. _Come back soon, my Aura. There's too much we have to do together, too many people who are counting on you. Azure's only one of them._   
  
* * *   
  
"This has got to be it," Aura could only stare in awe around her. A forest clearing, that pulsed with pure life and power, with a clear stream running near-by, and an aura of nothing but peace, life, growth, and prosperity. "This is the Heart of the Earth."   
  
_Indeed it is. Why have you come to my home, Alaina Alantrius of Kalakan?_   
  
"A-are you the Spirit of Earth?" Aura's eyes widened as she was called by her real name.   
  
_I am. Why have you come to me?_   
  
"I was the Amber Ranger, the defender of Kalakan, but when that world was destroyed, I lost my powers, and nearly my life," Aura explained quickly. "I come to you to make my oath as the defender of Earth, if you will accept me, that I might be the Amber Ranger again."   
  
_Is there no other reason?_   
  
Aura took a deep breath. "There is the greatest of reasons: my sister, my mother, my parents from Earth. They're all in danger, all prisoners of Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa. I have to save them."   
  
_Cannot the other Rangers rescue them?_ The voice was very calm and very rich, holding within it all that lived and all that died. Spring, summer, fall, and winter all were in that tone, all joy and all sorrow in the entire world were there as well.   
  
Aura shook her head. "I don't know, and it doesn't matter. They're my family, the only reason they were kidnapped in the first place was because of me. It's my responsibility."   
  
_For no other reason than that?_   
  
Aura closed her eyes. The last reason, the best reason. The real reason she'd come here. "I love them. I can't just let them die and not at least try to do something about it. If you turn me down, and if I live, I'll see if Zordon will teleport me to the moon anyway, to try and get them back."   
  
_Without powers?_   
  
"Yes, without," Aura nodded sharply. "The power doesn't matter, it's the trying to help them. Helping the people I love."   
  
_And what will you do when they are safe?_   
  
"Use the power to help others, to help and defend this whole world from Zedd and Rita, and anyone else who might try to hurt it," Aura replied. "I love this world, and I want to help it."   
  
_Your heart is great, Aura Lynn Robinson, and you have proven that you seek to defend only. Step into the fire._   
  
Before Aura could ask what fire, a huge conflagration appeared in front of her. She stared at it for a second, then leaped into it, trusting the Spirit of Earth. She felt enormous power, power beyond anything she'd ever known, power that made what she'd known as Kalakan's Ranger be nothing. Great wings of light and power were spun from her soul and she felt a connection she'd thought gone forever being reforged: the bond between the Amber Ranger and the spirit of the world she was sworn to protect.   
  
_Make your oath, Aura Robinson, and know that this binds you and your descendants for all time to come_.   
  
"I swear upon my soul, my heart, and my blood that from this day until the end of this world, I and those who come after me shall devote our lives to the defending and protection of the Earth and all who dwell upon it. We shall give our lives in this should it be necessary, but shall devote those lives to seeing that it is not. Until time's end, this I so swear."   
  
_From this moment on, we are one. As the animal you are most closely linked to, the fierce Hawk, is protective and loving of those it cares for, so are you. I am the Spirit of the Earth, and you are the Ranger of the Earth, known as the Amber Ranger. In time of great need, you will call upon the power of the HawkZord, fully as strong as the EagleZord you once flew. You have the right and privilege to come to the Heart of Earth whenever you choose, and to bring those with you whom you desire._   
  
The fire faded from around her, and she was standing where she had been, clad once more in the uniform of the Amber Ranger. But where her shield had been blank before, now the image of the Earth was emblazoned. She felt a warmth around her neck, something resting over her heart, and knew it for a new amber pendent, symbol of the link between herself and the Earth.   
  
Before her was a transparent woman, more beautiful than anything she had ever imagined in all her life. The woman laid a hand on Aura's shoulder and spoke. "I am the Spirit of the Earth, Aura, and I have been waiting for you for a very long time. Though I mourn the passing of my sister, the Spirit of Kalakan, and grieve over the pain it caused you, I am glad to know that our bond has eased that pain to a degree."   
  
As she said that, Aura realized that the gaping wound within her soul caused by the destruction of Kalakan was gone, healed as if it had never been. "Thank you," seemed inadequate, but it was all that came to her lips as she removed her helmet.   
  
"Return here often, my beloved other half," the Spirit enfolded Aura in her arms and pressed a loving kiss to her forehead. "But for now, there are others who need you."   
  
Aura nodded. "Can you send me back to the Command Center? I think Adam would like to come rescue his girlfriend with me!"   
  
The Spirit smiled. "With the greatest of pleasure," a heartbeat later, Aura stood in the Command Center. Adam leaped to his feet.   
  
"Aura!" it was Billy who spoke, however, rushing over to hold her in his arms. "You're the Amber Ranger again!"   
  
Even if she hadn't been morphed, he would have known; there was an air of confidence and power about her that had been gone before. Aura kissed him, then turned to Adam. "Let's go get Azure and all my parents back!"   
  
Billy turned back to the computer he'd been working at. "You've got great timing, too, I've just managed to punch through the shields around the palace. Who's going?"   
  
"Me!" Adam was morphed in less time than it takes to speak of. "There's no way I'm staying out of this!"   
  
"I think that's all we'll need," Aura smiled. "Adam and I can take care of this."   
  
"Are you sure?" Tommy looked concerned. Aura laid a hand on his shoulder, and he almost quaked before the strength and self-assurance in her eyes.   
  
"I'm sure."   
  
Billy didn't get them anymore time to argue over it, hitting the controls and teleporting the Black and Amber to the Palace. "I hope we're doing the right thing," was all he said as they vanished.   
  
* * *   
  
"Fight!" Goldar kicked at Azure once more. The younger Robinson girl did her best, but the winged monkey was just too strong for her. She backed away, tripping over a loose rock, and fell on her back. Goldar laughed hideously and stood over her, sword raised high.   
  
"Azure!" Mrs. Robinson screamed from the wall where she, her husband, and Shaya were chained, tears in her voice and on her cheeks. "Leave her alone!"   
  
Shaya closed her eyes, remembering how only months before she could have freed them all with a mere flexing of magic. Once magic had flowed freely through her veins, now there was nothing. _Where are you, Aura? We need you._   
  
"Your sister is not here to save you this time!" Goldar prepared to bring his sword down on Azure's unprotected neck. She shrank back, whispering under her breath, "I'm sorry, Adam. . .I did my best."   
  
"Oh, I wouldn't say that, Goldar."   
  
Everyone looked up as two shadows fell across the arena. One was the familiar Black Ranger that Azure's heart leapt to see. But the other. . . the other wore a uniform that the Robinsons had never seen, that Azure had never thought to see again, and that Rita, Zedd, and Goldar had thought was gone forever.   
  
"A. . .Aura?" Azure whispered. Aura leapt down next to her sister, kicking Goldar away from her. "It's impossible. . .you're dead!"   
  
"Aura!" Shaya smiled, stealing a glance at the wide-eyed Robinsons. "You found the Spirit of Earth!"   
  
Her daughter pinned her with a glance. "You knew? We're going to have to talk about this, Mother!"   
  
The Robinsons stared. "Mother?" Mr. Robinson asked. "She's right, we're going to have to have a talk!"   
  
"Adam, get them out of those chains!" Aura told him as she held Goldar off. "Then we're getting out of here!"   
  
"This isn't possible!" Zedd roared in disbelief. Adam quickly blasted the chains off the prisoners and urged them out to where Aura and Azure waited. Goldar charged once again, only to meet Aura's cold eyes and gleaming Axe. He stopped where he stood; not even he was foolish enough to suicide on that sharp blade.   
  
"Oh, it's quite possible, Zedd!" Aura chuckled. "Amber Ranger is back in town, and better than ever, thanks to the Spirit of Earth!"   
  
"Aura?!" Azure stared at her. "How are you not dead?"   
  
"I'll explain everything back at the Command Center," Aura promised. "Let's go!"   
  
Before Zedd or Rita could do anything to stop them, they were gone. "What just happened here?" Zedd complained.   
  
"She's the Amber Ranger again!" Rita screeched. "I thought you said she had no powers!"   
  
"She swore an oath to the Spirit of Earth, then!" Zedd retorted. "Didn't you know that's how Amber Rangers are made???"   
  
It devolved into a screaming, shouting match from then on.   
  
* * *   
  
"All right, Aura, slowly and in words of one-syllable, tell us exactly how you survived Kalakan being destroyed," Azure stared at her sister as Alpha treated the wounds she'd received at Goldar's hands.   
  
Aura smiled; it was so good to be back with her family, all of it, at last. She took Shaya's hand and turned her towards the Robinsons. "To begin with: this is Shaya Shaldar, my natural mother. She gave birth to me on Kalakan fifty thousand years ago, and has been waiting for me to return since about a week after I was born."   
  
"When Aura arrived on Kalakan, in such pain from what she believed was the treacherous hate of her friends and family, I had a spaceship ready. I knew through the magic I still controlled at the time that Kalakan's time had come, and I did not give her a chance to protest or ask questions," Shaya smiled gently.   
  
"She bundled me into the ship and was heading away from Kalakan before I knew what was going on," Aura took up the thread again. "All I knew was that I still hurt over what I thought was all of you hating me. Then Kalakan exploded. . .and I had something else to hurt over," there was pain in her eyes, remembered pain. "But something sort of released inside of me when that happened. I realized what was going on; that it had to have been some trick of Zedd's."   
  
"We tried to get in touch with your Command Center," Shaya told them next, "but the ship's communications were destroyed in the explosion; I'm surprised we actually made it to Earth at all. And I had to put up with six months of Aura worrying and wondering over you all: but especially over you."   
  
She was looking at Billy, who was once more drinking in the sight of Aura alive and well. He blushed a bit. "Well. . .," he stammered a bit, only to be cut off by Aura pulling him into a deep kiss.   
  
"I love you, Billy Cranston," she said, gazing into his eyes. "I have loved you all my life, and will love you until the day I die: and even beyond then."   
  
Billy's only reply was to return the kiss she'd just given him, with all his heart in it. Kat leaned over to Aisha and whispered, "I wonder how long till they get married?"   
  
Aisha chuckled. "Who knows?" Trini, who stood near with the other ex-Rangers, overheard her and smiled.   
  
"I think it'll happen before high school graduation," she told them. "In fact, I'm sure of it!"   
  
"Just how sure?" Kat wondered. Kim tapped her on the shoulder and told her, "Don't ask. I've got twenty bucks that says Billy's too shy!"   
  
Trini grinned. "We've still got about six months or so until then! We'll find out!"   
  
Adam and Azure were having a talk of their own in a quiet corner of the Command Center. "I heard you saying something about being sorry, when Aura and I got to the arena," Adam asked. "What about?"   
  
Azure sighed and looked down. "I couldn't beat Goldar," Adam tilted her chin up to her, not letting her take her eyes away from his.   
  
"Hey, we have problems with him too a lot. You did your best, and I'm proud of you," he kissed her gently. "I love you, Azure Robinson."   
  
Azure hesitated a moment, then wrapped him in her own arms. "I love you, Adam Park."   
  
The Robinsons and Shaya were getting along splendidly as well. "I can't stay," Shaya told them. "I'm going to do some exploring of the galaxy now that my wait for Aura is over."   
  
"It's been good to meet you," Mr. Robinson smiled at her. "I must admit, though, it's hard to believe you're her birth-mother: and over fifty thousand years old!"   
  
Shaya smiled. "You raised Aura well, my new friends. I'm very proud to call her both my daughter and yours."   
  
"So are we," Mrs. Robinson glanced over at her daughters, both of whom were with their boyfriends. "And we're so very grateful to you for saving Aura's life."   
  
"It was the least I could do," Shaya smiled gently as she watched Aura and Billy embrace and kiss again. Those two were an excellent couple, she knew. They would do well together.   
  
* * *   
  
"It's like a long nightmare has finally come to an end," Billy told Aura later that night as they walked along the beach together. "You don't want to know how many times in the past six months I thought about just ending it, ending everything, suiciding."   
  
"I would have never forgiven you if you had," Aura told him firmly. Then she said something else, he didn't know in what language, but it sounded like whatever she'd used the day before to communicate with her mother to destroy Zedd's monster.   
  
"What was that?" he asked, wanting to be sure.   
  
"Kalakan," she smiled. "Mother taught it to me on the way here. I said, 'I love you, Billy. Never leave me.'"   
  
They paused under Angel's Bluff. Aura's lips curved into a smile as she noticed where they were. "Last time we were here was just before we went to the moon, to get my old necklace back."   
  
"And wound up being captured and you nearly killed Adam," Billy sighed in remembrance. "I'm so glad all that's ended."   
  
"As am I," Aura kissed him. "I can't say this enough times, Billy. I love you."   
  
As they stood embracing under the moonlight, the Spirit of Earth stood near, invisible, and smiling.   
  
_This is not the end, Aura. This is only the beginning._

**The End**


	8. Petrified Amber

**Petrified Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

Things had changed on the moon since Aura, the Amber Ranger, had proven rather violently and noisily that she was quite alive, well, and at full Ranger-powers. The heavily muscled Goldar stared at Earth through Rita's RepulsaScope. He muttered under his breath, "That stupid Ranger. She will pay for humiliating me!"  
  
Aura had stopped him three times from hurting or even killing Azure. He hated the Amber Ranger with a passion that burned far beyond what he'd ever felt for Tommy or Jason or any of the other Rangers.   
  
"Whatcha doing, Goldy?" it was Rito; the walking skeleton came up behind him and asked. Goldar usually didn't mind hanging around Rito, but not today. He had his own agenda to start planning.   
  
"I will have my revenge against you, Amber Ranger!" he growled. As he watched Aura, Rito tugged on one of Goldar's wings.   
  
"Whatcha doing?" Rito insisted on knowing. Goldar turned to him.   
  
"Planning my revenge on that Amber Ranger!"   
  
"Why?" Rito asked. At times, Goldar wondered just why Zedd didn't blast the skeleton into dust. Then again, he was useful for comic relief.   
  
"She's humiliated me enough already, and she stopped me from killing that human: three times!"   
  
"Oh," Rito digested that. "Want some help? I can do. . .I dunno. . .something."   
  
"Just be sure not to tell Rita and Zedd what I'm doing!" Goldar ordered as he stalked away.   
  
"Now why would I do a dumb thing like that?" Rito muttered.   
  
"Just don't tell!" Goldar shouted from the doorway before leaving.   
  
"Of course not!" Rito replied. What kind of an idiot did Goldy think he was, anyway?   
  
* * *  
  
"Aura? Are you paying attention?" Mrs. Applebee asked the young girl. Aura pulled her eyes from the broad green grass outside and back to the class.   
  
"Yes, ma'am," she replied. Of all things, she, Aura Robinson, was in summer school! Well, that was what you had to deal with when you spent six months trying to get back to Earth from the shattered ruins of the world you were born on.   
  
"Then would you care to answer the third question on the board?" the kindly teacher asked. Aura took care of it; algebra was child's play when you'd used advanced calculus and more to plot a path through the stars themselves.   
  
"Very good," Mrs. Applebee complimented her. The bell rang as Aura took her seat again. "All right, class is over, remember that we're having a test over what we did this week on Friday."   
  
Aura gathered her books and headed for her next class. Along the way, she bumped right into Bulk and Skull. She and Azure still couldn't believe these two were on the junior police patrol.   
  
"Well, if it isn't Aura Robinson. So what was it like?"   
  
Aura stared at them; the most memories she ever had of them. weren't good ones; they'd teased her unmercifully as a child.   
  
"What was what like?"   
  
"Being dead?" Skull asked.   
  
"I wasn't dead," Aura sighed.   
  
"Oh, yeah, that's right," Skull laughed annoyingly.   
  
"So what kept you away from Angel Grove?" Bulk wanted to know.   
  
Aura sighed; this wasn't how she'd wanted to spend her return to Earth at all. "I had amnesia when the plane crashed and I just got my memory back a few weeks ago. I came back to Angel Grove as soon as I was capable of doing so."   
  
"Oh," Skull nodded as if he'd understood that, which he might have. She wasn't sure anymore. "Want to go out Friday?"   
  
Aura groaned to herself; navigating through asteroid fields had been easier than ditching these two. "No. I'm dating Billy, remember?!"   
  
"Why do you wanna date that geek?" Skull wondered.   
  
"Because I love him, that's why," Aura replied sharply. "And he loves me."   
  
"There will be no more love for you!" Goldar was suddenly there, inches away from her! Bulk and Skull stared at him, stammering, "Mmmmmm.. .mmmmm. . .monster!" A moment later, they had both fainted. Aura acted reflexively, putting herself between them and Goldar.   
  
"What are you doing here?" she snarled. With the few scattered students around, she couldn't morph nor could she even speak of being a Ranger. Luckily, they were all clearing out.   
  
"I came to destroy some humans!" Goldar proclaimed, advancing on her with his sword at the ready.   
  
"No way, never," Aura replied coldly. "The Power Rangers won't let you." Especially not the Amber Ranger, if these kids would just get out of here!   
  
"Would you rather I went after that sister of yours again?" he taunted her. "I hurt her once, I can do worse this time!"   
  
Aura growled, "I've said it before, and I'll say it again until you get it through your thick skull: leave her alone!"   
  
"Maybe after I'm done with you, I will take her for a prize" Goldar drew closer, Aura backed away, hoping for enough space and solitude for her to morph. When she heard what Goldar was planning for Azure, she lashed out with a kick. Goldar swung at her, but she managed to avoid it.   
  
Aura jumped over Goldar, heading for her bag, where she kept her morpher. She'd only needed it since getting her new, Earth-based powers; Kalakan Rangers had never needed them. Just as her hands closed on her bag, a large hand closed on the back of her blouse and threw her into the lockers hard.   
  
She groaned as she looked up at Goldar, "You just had to come spoil my day, didn't you?"   
  
"You humiliated me! Of course I'll spoil your day: and your life. . .what's left of it!" Goldar swung at her again, but Aura hadn't spent six months training on the way back from Kalakan for nothing. She backflipped out of the way and brought her communicator to her lips as she did so.   
  
"Guys, big trouble at school," was all she had time to say before Goldar whirled her around and tore the device from her wrist. What else can go wrong today?   
  
"Your friends cannot help you!" Goldar snarled as he grabbed her by one shoulder and pinned her against the lockers again. Aura tried to pull his hand off her, but he had always been physically stronger than she was. He raised his sword. "I'm going to enjoy this!"   
  
* * *   
  
Azure put the tray of sodas down and smiled at Adam. "Here you guys, go."   
  
She was really enjoying her summer job at Ernie's, she got to see Adam a lot, even while on the job, and it brought in some good money. "Thanks, Azure," Adam grinned at her. Their relationship had actually strengthened during the time everyone had thought Aura was dead, once she'd realized it hadn't been the Rangers who'd driven her sister to her 'death'.   
  
She leaned over him, whispering, "Are we still on for tonight after I get off?"   
  
"Do you have to ask?" Adam's grin widened. She giggled.   
  
"No, I'll be right back, I'm getting ready to go on break," she headed off to tell Ernie just as Tommy joined the guys at their usual table.   
  
"Hey, guys, what's up?" he asked. Adam smiled.   
  
"The usual stuff. Billy hasn't moved in over ten minutes, his eyes are glazed over, I think he's daydreaming about Aura again," the Black Ranger reported. As he said that, Billy looked over at them.   
  
"What?"   
  
Adam grinned. "What kind of fantasy was it this time, Billy?" he poked gentle fun at his friend.   
  
"I was doing it again, wasn't I?" Billy blushed a little. He'd never reacted like this to any of his girlfriends, and they all knew it. Something about not being with Aura drew his thoughts endlessly to her.   
  
"That's the fifth time, in thirty minutes," Aisha said dryly. At that moment, the six-tone beep of the communicators interrupted them. Azure sighed as she rejoined them in time to hear that.   
  
"So much for that idea," she dismissed the thought of spending a half hour of quality time with her boyfriend. Adam sighed.   
  
"Wonder what it is this time?" Adam sighed as they went to their usual private corner.   
  
"This is Billy," Billy touched his communicator. Their blood all froze as they heard, "Guys, big trouble at school!"   
  
A moment later, Aura's voice was replaced by static. "Oh, man, this isn't good!"   
  
"Be careful, guys," Azure advised.   
  
"It's morphin' time!" Tommy declared as she stepped back. Moments later, they stood, morphed, in the hallway at Angel Grove High. Billy's heart jumped into his throat as he saw Aura on the floor, obviously badly beaten and unconscious. Goldar stood over her, about to bring his sword down on her.   
  
"No!" Billy shouted as Tommy leaped over, Saba out already.   
  
"Not today, Goldar!"   
  
"Out of my way, White Ranger, this is between the two of us!"   
  
Goldar growled.   
  
"No way, I'm not going to let you murder my friend!" Tommy stood over Aura as Adam hit his communicator.   
  
"Alpha, teleport Aura out of here, now!" the Amber Ranger dissolved into light and vanished, as Tommy and Goldar fought.   
  
"Still want to stick around and play, Goldar?" the White Ranger asked. Kat hurried over to Bulk and Skull, still passed out against the lockers.   
  
"Come on, guys, time to get out of here!" she urged them to wake up. Slowly they did so, and stared at the Pink Ranger over them.   
  
"W-what?" Bulk stammered.   
  
"Oh, wow, the Power Rangers!" Skull stared.   
  
"Yes, come on, it's not safe for you here!" Kat urged them away. The other Rangers could hear them begging for an autograph as she guided them away.   
  
"I will destroy you for ruining my fight!" Goldar promised as he and Tommy dueled yet again.   
  
"That was no fight, you would have killed her!" Tommy pointed out.   
  
"That was my intention!" Goldar was so intent on Tommy he didn't notice Billy and Adam coming up behind him.   
  
"Sorry, won't happen!" Tommy snapped back as Billy and Adam leaped on Goldar, knocking him into the lockers. This looked to be a long fight.   
  
* * *   
  
  
  
"Where is that fool, Goldar?" Zedd grumbled as he entered his throne room. "I can't find him anywhere!"   
  
"Oh, he's down on Earth, Ed," Rito told him.   
  
"What's he doing there?" Rita wondered. Her brother shrugged.   
  
"He said something about doing in one of the Rangers."   
  
Zedd growled, "Which one? How dare he attack without orders!"   
  
"Ummm. .I think he said it was a 'she'," Rito tried to remember. Zedd knew exactly what was going on then, and was not happy about it.   
  
"He's going after the Amber Ranger! The fool! Rito, you and a squad of Tengas go get him back!"   
  
"You got it, Ed!" Rito teleported off with the Tengas as Zedd roared, "It's Zedd, you fool, Zedd!"   
  
* * *   
  
"Come on, Goldar, why do Rita and Zedd want Aura this time?" Rocky asked as he knocked the warrior into a row of lockers.   
  
"They don't!" Goldar snarled, hitting at the Red Ranger. Billy blocked the blow and yelled, "So why were you going after her?"   
  
"Revenge!" Goldar hissed, hitting Billy in the stomach. He hit at Adam, who blocked the punch.   
  
"Sorry, not today," the Black Ranger taunted him. In a flash of black light, Rito Revolto appeared with Tengas.   
  
"Hey, Goldy, I've been sent to bring you back, Sis and Ed ain't too happy with you!" Rito told him.   
  
"Fine!" Goldar threw away the Rangers trying to stop him. "I did enough damage to the Amber brat for now anyway! IF she lives, tell her this isn't over with yet!"   
  
A moment later, he, Rito, and the Tengas had all vanished. Tommy sighed. "Let's get back to the Command Center."   
  
"I hope Aura's all right," Billy sighed. He'd just gotten her back; he couldn't bear to lose her for even a moment now.   
  
At the Command Center, Alpha was busily working on Aura. She lay on an examining table and the little robot was busily running a scanner up and down her body. "She'll be all right," he reported a few moments later. "She just needs rest; she's healing already."   
  
"Why does this keep happening?" Azure, who'd teleported in when she'd heard what had happened to Aura, wondered. Adam put an arm around her carefully.   
  
"I don't know, Azure," he shook his head. Aura's eyes flickered a little as Billy came over to her side, taking off his helmet. He smiled a little.   
  
"Time to wake up, beautiful," he smiled at her. Aura managed to sit up, wincing at the several bruises she'd collected complained at her movement.   
  
"That hurts," she muttered. Billy gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek.   
  
"Welcome back to the land of the living!"   
  
"What happened to Goldar? Last I saw was his fist coming at me," Aura's voice shook a little.   
  
"He got called back to the moon," Billy told her. Tommy nodded his agreement.   
  
"It looks like he attacked you without them knowing about it," the White Ranger remarked. "And if I know Rita and Zedd, I could almost feel sorry for him."   
  
"I don't," Billy hugged Aura. "Aura could've died if she weren't a Ranger."   
  
Azure came over and hugged Aura. "You're safe now," she told her sister. Her watch alarm beeped suddenly. "Man, I've got to get back to work before Ernie fires me," she looked at the others. "I'll see you later!"   
  
As she teleported out, Adam smiled. "Man, I love that girl!" Tommy chuckled.   
  
"It's noticeable!"   
  
"I guess it is," Adam smiled. He sighed happily; things were almost perfect.   
  
* * *   
  
  
  
"You disappoint me, Goldar!" Zedd growled at his servant as Goldar cowered in fear. He tried to cover it with bravado though.   
  
"For what?" he asked. "Trying to get rid of that Amber brat!"   
  
"You are only to do what you are told! I have plans for the Amber Ranger, and you nearly destroyed them! For that, say good-bye to your wings!" Zedd raised his staff, pointed at Goldar, and a moment later, his wings were gone!   
  
"No!" Goldar roared in pain. That Amber brat will pay for this! No matter what it takes!   
  
  
  
* * *   
  
Over the next two days, Aura's injuries healed and she seemed to have made a full recovery. As she, Tommy, and Billy walked through the park, there was no sign at all she'd gone through one of the worst beatings ever dished out to a Power Ranger.   
  
Tommy looked over at his two friends and smiled a little. It was obvious they wanted to be alone together. "I guess I should go find Rocky; he said something about wanting to spar today."   
  
Aura smiled, holding onto Billy's hand. "Yeah, you go spar with Rocky!" she giggled. Tommy was about to leave, when a monster with a clock's face and boxing gloves appeared.   
  
"What time is it, Rangers?" it snarled. "I am TimeKeeper, and your time has run out!"   
  
"Man, not what we needed!" Tommy groaned. "You ready?" he glanced over at Billy and Aura. Billy was about to morph, but Aura. . .what was wrong with her?   
  
Aura stood, her eyes wide, unseeing. Her breath came faster and faster with every moment, and she was literally shaking. "Aura?" he asked gently. "You okay?"   
  
She couldn't move, he had her pinned against the lockers with one huge hand. He kicked her in the guts, then threw her into the stone wall, hard. Blood was pouring into one eye from a cut on her forehead, and she could hardly see. She couldn't morph, Bulk and Skull might wake up, and she didn't dare risk their lives at any rate; Goldar probably wouldn't bother them.   
  
Then a huge armored fist was heading straight for her face, and only blackness followed.   
  
"Aura? Come on, talk to me!" Billy seized her arm and shook it a little, to no avail.   
  
"Billy, get her back to the Command Center, and contact the others. I'm not taking any chances she's going to get hurt."   
  
Billy carefully took Aura's hand and teleported away. The other Rangers arrived a few moments later, and as they did so, Adam growled, "Man, this monster has no sense of timing!"   
  
"Hah! Keeping time is what I do best, Rangers!" TimeKeeper bellowed as it attacked.   
  
"Azure's one day off this week and this happens," Adam grumbled as he blocked the monster. The fight didn't take long; as TimeKeeper vanished shortly after it began.   
  
"Let's get back to the Command Center. There's something going on with Aura and I want to find out what it is."   
  
* * *   
  
"So, the little Amber Ranger is scared to fight," Zedd chuckled evilly. "Maybe Goldar's attack on her was a good idea after all."   
  
"Did you see how she was shaking, Zedd?" Rita could hardly believe her eyes.   
  
"Yes," Zedd nodded. "We need to find a time when she is alone, and then we attack! That will be the end of the Amber Ranger!"   
  
Rita frowned. "If the Rangers know she's afraid, they won't leave her alone, though."   
  
Zedd had an answer for that. "Then we attack her when she's with her sister!"   
  
Rita's evil laughter echoed throughout the palace. "Should Goldar be permitted to help? She might be even more helpless if she saw him again!"   
  
"Yes!" Zedd was proud of his evil queen. "Goldar, Timekeeper! Be ready to attack the moment the Amber Ranger is alone, or with her sister! Understood?"   
  
"Yes, sire!" Goldar was still sulking over the loss of his wings, but dared not deny Zedd.   
  
"We'll be right on time with this attack, Lord Zedd!" TimeKeeper chimed in.   
  
"Oh, and Goldar," Zedd favored him with a glance. "If you succeed, you may just get your wings back!"   
  
* * *   
  
Aura leaned against a console, unmorphed, still trembling, when the others teleported in. Billy removed his helmet and came over to her. "Are you okay?"   
  
Aura closed her eyes and visibly forced herself to stop shaking. "I don't think so, Billy."   
  
"What happened?" he asked tenderly.   
  
Aura took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "When. . .when I saw that monster; I kept seeing Goldar the other day at school. I couldn't move. . .I couldn't do anything. . .I was literally too afraid to think!"   
  
Billy hugged her gently. "It's going to be okay."   
  
Aura looked him in the eyes. "What if it isn't, Billy? What. . .what if I can't fight at all. . .ever again?"   
  
"You will," he reassured her. "We just need to build your confidence back up. You are a great fighter, and you have a big heart. We won't let anything happen to you."   
  
Aura's smile made him feel a lot better. "But what if someone gets hurt because of this, Billy? I've hurt you guys before, and I don't want it to happen again."   
  
Tommy opened his mouth, but was interrupted by Alpha. "We will keep a lock on you; that way if something happens, we can get the others to you quickly."   
  
"Thanks, Alpha," Aura smiled at the robot. "I don't know what I'd do without you guys. . .all of you."   
  
RANGERS, IT MAY BE WISE TO RETURN TO ANGEL GROVE. WE WILL KEEP AN EYE ON AURA.   
  
"Let's go," the Amber Ranger sighed. Still in her gray eyes hovered a touch of fear.   
  
* * *   
  
Aura insisted on walking home alone; she wanted some time to think over what had happened. I don't believe I was such a wimp. I couldn't even move I was so scared! That's not like me at all. But I couldn't help myself. Oh, if something happens to Azure or the others I'll never forgive myself.   
  
Aura was so deep into her thoughts; she didn't even notice when Goldar, TimeKeeper, and a group of Tengas appeared in front of her. She did, however, notice it when TimeKeeper snarled, "What's the matter, Ranger? No time for us?"   
  
Aura's first scream of fear echoed. "Leave me alone!" Already her entire body shook with fear.   
  
Goldar laughed. "She doesn't sound happy to see us!"   
  
"I'm not!" Aura spat out. She could think of quite a few things she'd rather see than these two right now. Goldar paced closer to her, his sword out and ready.   
  
"Hurt my feelings, why don't you?" he tried sounding mournful. Aura managed to back away, her heart pounding and sweat dripping from her face. She slid her hand into her pocket, pulling out her morpher.   
  
I can do this! I can fight them! Aura's hands shook so badly she actually dropped her morpher! This is not good!   
  
"Looks like the little best lost something!" TimeKeeper cackled. It came closer to her, looming menacingly. "And the next thing you will lose is your life!"   
  
"Come on, Aura, you can do this," Aura muttered to herself. "You've got to do this!" a moment later, a powerful punch into her guts by Goldar knocked the breath out of her, and knocked to her knees as well. "Oh, that's real brave of you, monkey-boy!"   
  
"Not as good as this one!" TimeKeeper moved too fast and hit her with a strong uppercut that nearly knocked her unconscious.   
  
"Don't you guys know how to play fear?" Aura asked, barely able to keep herself steady.   
  
"Leave her alone!" Adam yelled as he and the other Rangers teleported in. Billy ran straight to Aura's side and handed her the morpher she'd dropped.   
  
"You okay?" Tommy glanced at her and asked. Aura nodded, a fury boiling up inside of her.   
  
"For someone so scared she can't even hold her morpher, I'm fine!"   
  
Timekeeper and Goldar backed away. "Till next time!" the monster promised.   
  
"When you're not hiding behind your friends!" Goldar mockingly saluted her with his sword, then they both vanished. Aura crumpled against Billy, crying.   
  
"Why won't they leave me alone? Why won't they stop trying to kill me?" she sobbed. "Or just do it and get it over with."   
  
Billy hugged her firmly. "It's going to be okay. They're just trying to freak you out. Don't let them win."   
  
"I can't even hold my own morpher, Billy!" Aura turned a tear-streaked face to him. "How am I supposed to fight when I'm shaking like this?"   
  
Tommy knelt down by her. "It's going to take time, but we are going to get you through this. That is a promise."   
  
Aura smiled shakily. "Thanks, Tommy. I needed that," she sighed to herself. Will I get through this?   
  
* * *   
  
"The only thing that spoiled that was the Rangers showing up! They're always spoiling the fun!" Goldar complained as he and TimeKeeper   
  
appeared back in the palace.   
  
"We are winning," Zedd smiled. "There is no way the Amber Ranger will regain her confidence, being attacked around every corner!"   
  
"Then we'll finally be rid of her!" Rita cackled. "Keep up the good work, Goldar, don't give her a moment to rest!"   
  
* * *   
  
That was exactly what they did over the next week. Aura almost couldn't step outside of her house without Goldar, TimeKeeper and a batch of Tengas appearing to make her life miserable. Her panic attacks got worse and worse with each battle, until she shivered and shook so much she was quite literally too afraid to go outside.   
  
She huddled in her room, in the dark, shaking with fear. This is pathetic. I'm the sworn defender of the Earth, and I can't even go out of my own room without shaking like a leaf!   
  
A knock on the door sent Aura diving under her covers, heart pounding with fear. "Aura?" it was Azure's voice. "You going to come with me or not?"   
  
"No," was Aura's shaking reply. A moment later, Azure came in, turning all the lights on. Knew I should have locked the door!   
  
"Leave me alone, Azure!"   
  
Azure was having none of that, however! "This has gone beyond ridiculous! You're a Power Ranger, for crying out loud! You are so scared you can't even go to the movies with your sister!"   
  
"I don't want you to get attacked along with me!" Aura told her. "It's bad enough when I'm on my own!"   
  
Azure grabbed Aura and pulled her out of the bed. "I've been watching you degrade for the past week! Adam told me to give it time, but I've had it! Now, either you can get ready on your own, or I can help you!"   
  
If I don't, she'll hound me forever!! That's worse than being afraid! "All right! I'll go, if you promise to leave me alone once we're done!"   
  
"Maybe," Azure looked at her. "We'll see."   
  
  
  
* * *   
  
As they walked to the theater, Aura glanced around nervously. No sign of them. Maybe they're not looking. Maybe I can actually have some free time. . .some peaceful time.   
  
"See, it's not so bad!" Azure told her.   
  
Aura sighed. "I guess not.   
  
"Tick-toc-tick-toc!" Timekeeper appeared in front of her. "Ranger and her sister about to be stopped!"   
  
Aura moved like lightning; putting herself in between Azure and the monster. "Don't you bother her!"   
  
"Puny human," it was Goldar, coming from nowhere to wrap an arm around Azure's neck. "You can't stop us!"   
  
"Azure, get out of here, now!" Aura shook already; she had to get Azure out of here, she'd known it was too dangerous to come out! Her sister tried to move, but Goldar's trip was too tight.   
  
"Surrender, Amber Ranger!" Goldar hissed. Aura backed away, her eyes round with fear.   
  
"Leave her alone!"   
  
"Never!" Goldar growled at her. Timekeeper pulled out a stop watch.   
  
"Maybe we should freeze the girl!" the monster threw the watch at Azure, and as it touched her, she froze solid.   
  
"Azure!" Aura screamed. In place of fear. . .rage and hate filled her voice.   
  
"What are you going to do about this?" Goldar laughed. "You certainly can't fight us!"   
  
"I can," Aura stared at them, her voice still shaking with fear.   
  
"Pathetic human," Goldar smiled evilly. "Your friends cannot help you now! Go ahead and call them!'   
  
"I think I will!" Aura reached for her communicator, then paled. "Oh, man, I left it at home! This is not good!"   
  
"This is the beginning of the end! Rito and the Tengas are taking care of your Ranger friends! I am going to deal with you personally!"   
  
Aura grabbed for her morpher; finally managing to grab it this time. But as she did so, Goldar knocked it out of her hands! "Sorry, Amber Ranger, no such luck for you!"   
  
"You and Rita and Zedd haven't left me alone since I got back from Kalakan! Why?!"   
  
"Because it's our job to annoy you Rangers!" Goldar stomped towards her, sword upraised. Aura backed away, her eyes flicking to the morpher on the ground. She suffered a sudden flashback to when she had been under Zedd's control and chasing down Adam; she knew Goldar wouldn't permit her the "last request" she had Adam, to morph for the fight.   
  
"My sister's not a Ranger!" Aura snapped. "Why do you keep bothering her?"   
  
"She is your sister, and the girlfriend of the Black Ranger! That is why!"   
  
Aura's nerves, frayed to the bone from a week of emotional torment, suddenly snapped. Her fear vanished and she leapt towards Goldar. "You are going to learn to leave my friends and family alone!" she snarled, uppercutting the gold monkey.   
  
"Never!" he promised her. She did a combination backflip/kick to his chin and landed perfectly on balance, a warrior reborn.   
  
"So the little Ranger is getting her confidence back!" Goldar laughed. "Pity it will be one of the last things you will do!"   
  
"Yeah, right," Aura laughed. "I've heard that before!"   
  
Aura rammed an elbow into Goldar's stomach, then grabbed him by one arm and threw him over her shoulder. She glared at him as he struggled to his feet. "That's what six months of training coming home from the world you bastards destroyed did for me!"   
  
The other Rangers teleported in just as Goldar was getting to his feet. Aura stormed straight back into battle, taking out months worth of fear, frustration, and anger on him. When Billy saw her fighting, he smiled. "All right, Aura!" He cheered her.   
  
Aura waved as she pulled off a roundhouse kick that knocked Goldar's sword ten feet away. Billy and Adam both broke out laughing, until the Black Ranger noticed Azure's frozen form. "No!"   
  
"Till another day, Rangers!" Goldar swore and vanished. Aura joined her friends and smiled a little.   
  
"I feel a lot better now!" she told them. She had her morpher in her hands already.   
  
"What happened here?" Adam asked, fear choking his voice now. He couldn't seem to take his eyes off Azure.   
  
"He did," Aura glared at TimeKeeper, who seemed to be frozen in time himself at the fierce look in the Amber Ranger's eyes. "And we're going to tear him apart for it!"   
  
"You can say that again!" Adam snapped. "Power Blaster!" Tommy and Aura stood by as the other five Rangers blasted the creature. As it faded to dust, Azure collapsed to the ground. She looked up to see a look of confidence and strength in Aura's eyes that she had almost forgotten.   
  
"Aura! You did it!" Azure smiled. Her sister nodded.   
  
"And I have you to thank for it, Azure," she helped Azure up, smiling, and hugged her.   
  
"Me?"   
  
"I would have never come out tonight if it weren't for you," Aura reminded her. "And when you were frozen, I just couldn't let it keep on going. I never have been able to stand you being hurt."   
  
"Glad you're back," Azure hugged her in return. "I'm also glad you're overprotective!"   
  
* * *   
  
"Goldar! You idiot!" Zedd roared in supreme anger. "You can forget getting your wings back!"   
  
Goldar was confused. "I don't understand! How could she have gotten her confidence back?"   
  
"It must've been that sister of hers," Rita growled as she watched Earth. "She cares so much for her!"   
  
"It's been like that every time! Whenever we think we have her, her love for her sister always messes things up somehow!"   
  
"That is so," Zedd nodded, deep in thought.   
  
"What are you thinking of, Zedd?" Rita bounced like the evil child she'd once been. "Is it evil?"   
  
"It is indeed!" Zedd laughed.   
  
"Then tell!"   
  
"We destroy Azure!"   
  
"Excellent plan, my dear!" Rita approved. "But how? The Amber Ranger is almost always with her, or the Black Ranger is!"   
  
"Then we make sure we get her when they are busy with one of our monsters!" Zedd decided.   
  
"Shall we simply kill her then?" Rita wondered. Zedd shook his head.   
  
"No, I have a few other plans than just that," Zedd turned his gaze to the Robinson house, watching as they bid each other good-night. "Now, I just need to know a few things about her."   
  
* * *   
  
"Good night, Azure, and thanks!" Aura called as she closed her door.   
  
"You're welcome!" Azure slid into bed and kissed the photo of Adam next to her bed good night. Moments later, she was deep into sleep and deep into nightmares.   
  
Eric smiled evilly. "You can never escape me, Azure. You're going to be my girlfriend, whether you like it or not!"   
  
Azure backed into a corner, whimpering as he slapped her hard. "No, please, Eric, leave me alone!"   
  
"Oh, no, this is too much fun! You're so beautiful when you beg!" Eric advanced on her, a cold and harsh light in his eyes.   
  
"Eric, stop!" Azure screamed. "Please, stop!"   
  
"Azure!" it was Aura's voice, pulling her up out of the nightmare and into the waking world. "Azure, you're having a nightmare, wake up!"   
  
"Aura?" Azure stared at her sister. Aura held her tightly.   
  
"You were dreaming. . .about Eric I guess, you were telling him to stop!"   
  
Azure's eyes filled with tears. "Why am I having these dreams again? I finally find someone who makes me feel safe, and now this!"   
  
Aura sat on the bed next to Azure. "Azure, they're only dreams. They're not real."   
  
Her sister looked up at her. "Oh, Aura. What am I going to do if he finds me?"   
  
Aura smiled lightly. "If he does: he'll find out just how deadly the Amber Ranger can be when she puts her mind to it."   
  
* * *   
  
"So, the little human has dreams of an old love," Zedd mused as he watched Azure's nightmare and Aura trying to comfort her afterwards. "This could work to our advantage."   
  
"What have you got in mind, Zeddy?" Rita knew this would be a plan like none other. "Tell me!'   
  
Zedd scanned the Earth, seeking out who he wanted. "This is going to be the ultimate plan!! The destruction of both that blasted Azure Robinson, and all the Power Rangers along with her!" 

**The End**


	9. Broken Amber

**Broken Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

Eric Matthews sat in his room at Juvenile Hall, staring at a picture of Azure Robinson. A cold, evil light lit his dark eyes as he did so. "You are going to pay for this," he whispered. "And so will your sister."   
  
He closed his eyes, thinking of all the various and damaging things he was going to do to both the Robinson girls. As he daydreamed, he suddenly felt a strange and not quite unpleasant sensation. His eyes flew open and he looked around to find himself in a cold, evil-looking throne room. Seated on the throne was what could only be described as a skinless man!   
  
"Welcome, Eric Matthews!" the thing told him. Eric stared, he couldn't be seeing what he thought he was! A skinless man, a gold-armored monkey, a bag of camouflage-painted bones, and a woman who had a lot of cones and points on her outfit, all in the same room, and all looking at him!!!   
  
"Where am I?" he asked. "And who... or what... are you?"   
  
"I am Lord Zedd," the thing on the throne told him. "You are in my palace on the moon. I need your assistance with something."   
  
Eric smiled. "How much are you going to pay me for this 'assistance'?"   
  
Zedd laughed. "You will have revenge, which I believe you want, on the one called Azure Robinson: and her sister Aura."   
  
Eric smiled eagerly. "You're serious?" If he could get the chance to get to them... to Azure, especially, but to Aura as well... "Oh, that would be just too good!"   
  
"Yes!" Zedd promised. "But there's a few things you need to know first."   
  
"Such as?" Zedd began to tell him, and Eric's eyes widened as he learned of the Power Rangers' true identity; the nature of Aura Robinson as an alien, and the romance that had arisen between Adam and Azure. "All right," he said when the recitation was over. "What do you want me to do, Zedd?"   
  
"Stalk Azure," Zedd replied at once. "Terrify her. Make her afraid to move without thinking you're going to be there. If she is in danger, Aura will be distracted, as will Adam and Billy in turn. Then I can defeat the Rangers easily!"   
  
"It's a deal!" Eric cracked his knuckles ominously. "Maybe I can administer some physical damage as well! To both of them!"   
  
"Maybe," Zedd didn't promise anything. Evil laughter, with a new and vile voice added, sounded throughout the palace.   
  
* * *   
  
"Azure!" Ernie tapped Azure on the shoulder; she'd been distracted all day. She jumped, eyes wide with startlement.   
  
"What?" she stammered.   
  
"Sorry," Ernie looked upset that he'd upset her. "Didn't mean to startle you."   
  
"It's okay," Azure sighed. "Guess I'm a little jumpy today," Azure sighed. A night full of nightmares hadn't done much for her state of mind.   
  
"What's the matter?" her boss wondered.   
  
"Didn't sleep well last night," she sighed.   
  
"Why's that?" Ernie frowned. "Not feeling well or something?"   
  
Azure shook her head. "I'm fine; it's nothing really." It had been a long time since she had to deal with dreams of Eric. She picked up a smoothie Ernie had in his hand. "Is this Bulk's smoothie?" she asked. Ernie nodded and Azure turned to carry it over to the portly junior cop.   
  
As she did so, a tall figure entered the Juice Bar. Azure went completely white and started to shake so badly the smoothie fell straight into Bulk's lap. "NO!" She started to back up.   
  
Ernie stared at Azure as she turned and ran for the back storage room. "Azure, what's wrong?" he asked, but she was already gone by the time he got there. Adam, sparring with Tommy on the mats, saw her fly by.   
  
"Hey, what's with Azure?" he wondered. Tommy shook his head.   
  
"I don't know," he murmured. "Let's go find out.   
  
They headed back for the back room, with Ernie's permission, to find Azure crying, balled up in a corner. Adam went over to her, concern flaring in his dark eyes. "Azure?" he asked gently. She didn't seem to notice him, muttering to herself, "No, it can't be..."   
  
"Azure, what's wrong?" Tommy asked carefully. Adam knelt down by her.   
  
"Talk to me, please, Azure," he urged. Azure kept sobbing, barely managing to speak, if only to herself.   
  
"Won't... let him... hurt me... again," she whispered, her words choked out between tears.   
  
"Who hurt you?" Adam pressed; trying to get her to talk to him. "I'll kill them!" He felt a sudden protectiveness surging up towards the obviously distressed girl.   
  
That seemed to penetrate Azure's mental shell as she looked up and saw him. Her eyes filled with something he could only call shame and fear. She surged up to her feet and pushed past both he and Tommy, heading out the door.   
  
"This is getting strange," Tommy sighed as Adam ran after his girlfriend.   
  
* * *   
  
Aura headed for the Youth Center, humming under her breath. She wondered briefly where she'd learned the song she hummed so often; it wasn't like anything she'd ever heard that she could remember. It conjured up feelings of safety, comfort and love she could barely imagine were real.   
  
Her thoughts were interrupted as someone crashed into her, full of tears. Aura was surprised to notice it was Azure! "Whoa, Azure, what's wrong?" she asked. She'd only seen Azure like this once before... no, it couldn't be...   
  
"It's... him," Azure gasped. "He's here..."   
  
"Who?" Aura hoped she was wrong about this; but a sixth sense told her she wasn't. Azure touched her cheek lightly, bringing up bad memories for both of them.   
  
"Him," was all Azure could say. Aura frowned. This wasn't what she'd wanted to deal with today; she was still a bit quivery inside whenever a fight situation came up.   
  
"Where is he?" she asked, a slow rage building. Azure turned around, and paled a bit as she saw Adam heading towards them.   
  
"Youth Center. Don't tell Adam or the others, please!" Azure begged her older sister.   
  
"Not a chance," Aura nodded her promise. There was a cold gleam in her eyes as she held her sister. "I'll go see if he's still around. I've still got a few things unsettled with him."   
  
"Be careful," Azure advised as Aura headed into the Youth Center. Adam came up to her, calling her name carefully.   
  
"Hold me, please," Azure whispered to him, reaching out. "Just hold me." As Adam enfolded her in his arms, she thought, _I finally found someone I'm safe with... I won't let anyone take this away from me._   
  
* * *   
  
Aura marched into the Youth Center, fists clenched, and her blood hot. She glanced around, searching for a familiar face that shouldn't be there. A voice came from behind her.   
  
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Aura Robinson," she whirled to face Eric Matthews once again. "or should I say... Mother Hen!"   
  
"What are you doing here, Eric?" she snarled. He'd always hated the fact she protected Azure with her life. He stepped a little closer to her and whispered something that made her blood run cold.   
  
"Why don't you ask Zedd, little Amber Ranger?"   
  
"What are you talking about?" Aura did her best to cover her surprise.   
  
"Who do you think got me out of Juvie Hall? Lord Zedd. I know all your little secrets, Aura. The fact you're an alien, that you're the Amber Ranger. I came here for my revenge on you and Azure both, so get used to seeing me!"   
  
He left her standing there, in shock and shaking nearly as much as she had the day before. It only took her a moment to get over it, though, as she headed for Azure.   
  
* * *   
  
Adam stroked Azure's hair as she trembled in his arms; and was glad to see Aura coming out. There were storm clouds in her gray eyes, and a fury that almost made him step away before realizing it wasn't directed at him. He dared a question. "Aura, what's going on?"   
  
"It's personal, Adam," Aura's voice was even, firm, and didn't brook interference.   
  
"Personal?" Adam asked; he didn't like being shut out of Azure's past. The edge to Aura's tone as she replied cut off his arguments though.   
  
"I said personal. Azure and I can take care of it."   
  
Adam nodded. "At least let me help her get home," Adam glanced at Azure, who had finally stopped crying by now. Aura looked at her sister, who nodded briefly.   
  
"Let's go then," Adam and Azure walked close together, Adam's arm around her, while Aura prowled all around them, keeping an eye out for something or someone, apparently. Once they reached the Robinson house, Aura quite literally went in first and looked around before letting Azure in.   
  
"Hey," Adam whispered into Azure's ear. "Call me if you feel up to it later?"   
  
Azure nodded as Aura gestured her inside. A moment later, the door slammed shut behind them. Adam stared at it for a moment, then left, heading for Billy's.   
  
Inside, Aura leaned against the door and swore vilely. Mrs. Robinson came out of the kitchen, frowning. "Aura, watch your language!"   
  
"Eric Matthews is here," Aura said bluntly. The entire family knew him, and what he'd done to Azure. Her mom's face paled.   
  
"How did he find us?" she wondered.   
  
"Zedd," Aura snapped; she had a luxury none of the other Rangers did, her parents knew all her secrets. "He knows about me. _Everything_ about me!"   
  
Azure sat on the bottom step of the staircase, crying again. "Adam must think I've flipped."   
  
Aura sat next to her and put an arm around her. "We'll get rid of Eric. We did it once, we can do it again."   
  
"But if he knows about you," Azure hiccuped a bit as she spoke, "that means Rita and Zedd are behind this!"   
  
"I know," Aura nodded. Their mom looked at them both.   
  
"I think you should call off work for a while," she suggested. "I'm sure Ernie would understand." Aura agreed with her, as did their dad. Azure went to the phone.   
  
"Ernie?" she asked when it was picked up on the other end.   
  
"Azure?" he asked, worry in his voice.   
  
"Look, I'm sorry for running out on you like that. I guess I sort of just freaked. I was hoping to ask you if I could have some time off to deal with something... um... kind of personal."   
  
"Sure," was Ernie's friendly reply. "If it's that bad, whatever it is, you can have all the time off you need."   
  
"Thanks, Ernie, I appreciate this," Azure sighed gratefully. "Bye!" As she hung up and looked back at her family, she hoped she'd be able to go back to work soon: with Eric back behind bars where he belonged.   
  
_* * *_   
  
"Very nicely done!" Zedd congratulated Eric. "Soon we'll have the Rangers so confused it will be child's play to defeat them!"   
  
"Thanks," Eric grinned. "You should've seen the look in Aura's eyes when I told her I knew her secrets!"   
  
"I did," Zedd smiled; it was fun to see the Amber Ranger and her sister so startled and scared. "It is time for the next phase of the plan. Time to call Azure."   
  
"Can't wait to see her face next time we meet," Eric gloated. "You know, I like scaring them."   
  
"It appears you take after me," Zedd laughed. Of all things, a phone appeared in his outstretched hand. As he handed it to Eric, "Time to freak her out some more!"   
  
* * *   
  
The Robinson phone rang. "I'll get it!" Azure cried as she picked up the phone. She hoped it was Adam.   
  
"Hey there, Azure," a familiar and hated voice said. Azure hissed into the phone, "Why can't you leave me alone!"   
  
"Why would I?" Eric purred nastily. Aura came down the stairs and raised an eyebrow.   
  
"Who is it?" she asked, noticing the look of total shock in her sister's eyes. Aura took the phone from Azure and growled into it, "Who is this?"   
  
"I'll give you three guesses," Eric's slimy voice angered her.   
  
"Don't you ever call here again!" Aura yelled into the phone, livid with rage.   
  
"I will if I want to! There is no way to stop me!" Eric laughed in her ear.   
  
"Wanna bet?" Aura snarled, slamming the phone down hard. She pulled the cord out of the wall and turned to Azure, only to see her sister running up to her room. Aura followed her, concerned.   
  
"Azure?" she asked gently, seeing Azure staring out of the window.   
  
"Why is he doing this to me again?" Azure murmured.   
  
"I don't know," Aura shook her head. "But we won't let him."   
  
Azure stiffened suddenly and Aura glanced over her shoulder to see Eric standing outside, smiling nastily. "He's out there," Azure ran out into the hallway, not able to even look at him.   
  
"I'll go get rid of him." It was all Aura could do not to jump out of the window right onto him. "_Permanently_ if I have to!"   
  
She ran down the stairs and leapt outside, a growl rumbling deep in her throat. The only thing she saw was Billy, coming out of his house just about the same time she did. He called over, "Aura! How's Azure doing?"   
  
Aura glanced around, looking for Eric. He had to be there, somewhere. "Billy, did you see anyone else out here? Before I came out?"   
  
He shook his head. "No. Aura, what's going on? I just got back from taking Adam home. He was in no condition to drive himself."   
  
Aura took a deep breath, and almost told Billy everything. She simply couldn't, though. "I'll see you later, Billy. I've got something to do inside."   
  
It hurt her more than she could say to turn her back on Billy; she loved him so much, and not to let him know these things was painful. "Azure?" she called out softly.   
  
"Yeah?" Azure replied from upstairs. Aura joined her there.   
  
"He was gone by the time I got there," Aura sighed. This was getting seriously on her nerves.   
  
"How?" Her sister was trembling with fear, as much or more as Aura herself had been the day before."   
  
"I don't know," Aura put an arm around her sister. "But I'll keep an eye out for him. I'm not going to leave you alone with him around."   
  
* * *   
  
Days passed, and Azure just couldn't seem to move without Eric calling or approaching her. Aura never left her side it seemed, and during those few times she had to leave, to fight the monsters Zedd sent down, she insisted Azure stay at the Command Center, knowing Eric couldn't get to her there.   
  
Aura's constant attention and protection were seriously getting on Azure's nerves. As they walked home from school one day, Aura kept one hand on her morpher, the other around Azure, not wanting to even give Eric a chance to touch her.   
  
"Hello, there," a sly, snide voice spoke up from behind them. Azure turned, and broke away from Aura the moment she saw Eric there, running for their house.   
  
Aura glared at Eric, enough anger boiling in her veins to kill.   
  
"What's the matter with Azure?" Eric asked innocently, but with a cold smile on his lips. "I just wanted to say hello."   
  
"We don't want you around, Eric! We never have, can't you take a hint? Leave her alone!!"   
  
"I will never leave you two alone," Eric promised in a low growl. Aura grabbed him by the neck.   
  
"You _will_ leave her alone!" Eric broke her grip and threw her a few feet away.   
  
"We'll see about that," he told her as he left, vanishing a few moments later. Aura headed after Azure, knowing she'd probably find her at home. As Aura entered the house, Azure's cold, angry eyes met her.   
  
"He left," Aura sighed. She'd done it again; protected her sister.   
  
"Do me a favor, Aura," Azure's voice was as cold as her eyes. Aura looked over, smiling.   
  
"Anything."   
  
"Leave me alone!" Azure snapped harshly. "Don't try to protect me anymore!"   
  
"Azure!" Aura's eyes went wide; Azure had never complained before. Indeed, she'd always been grateful for Aura's protective nature.   
  
"You can't always be there for me. I need to start fighting my own battles. This is one I may not win, but I need to try my own way of dealing with him."   
  
"I can always be there!" Aura replied, startled. "It's what I do. I've done it for years, it's what big sisters do!" She smiled a little.   
  
"You don't get it, do you?" Azure growled. "_I don't want your help!_"   
  
Aura stared at Azure. "What did I do wrong?"   
  
"Nothing," Azure came over to her sister and laid a light kiss on her cheek. "I need to handle this my own way. I love you, Aura. I always will."   
  
Azure was up the stairs and in her room a moment later. She sat on the bed for a moment, staring at something that sat next to her photo of Adam. She picked it up and opened it, then stared at the photo again.   
  
"I am sorry, Adam," she said softly. She shook out the pill bottle she'd picked up, and sighed as she began to take them one by one.   
  
A few minutes passed, with Azure growing weaker and weaker with each moment. Someone came and tapped on the door. "Azure?" It was Aura. "Want some fighting lessons?"   
  
"No, Aura," Azure replied, barely able to speak already. "I don't think I'll need them."   
  
"Azure!" Aura nearly screamed her sister's name. A roundhouse kick knocked the door down and Aura leapt into the room. One glance was all it took, and Aura nearly exploded a lung as she called for her parents.   
  
"What is it?" her mom came in and saw Azure passed out on the bed. "NO!" She at once ran for the phone, calling an ambulance.   
  
"I'm going to kill Eric with my bare hands," Aura growled as the paramedics arrived a few minutes later. Her dad put an arm around her shoulders.   
  
"Calm down," he suggested. "Azure is going to need you now. She's going to need all the Rangers. I think it's about time you told them what's going on."   
  
"I'm still going to kill him," Aura told him. "But you're right."   
  
* * *   
  
The Rangers ran into the hospital; they couldn't believe the phone call they'd gotten from Aura. She hadn't been very coherent, in between tears and rage, but Billy managed to figure out to come to the hospital. Adam saw her standing in the waiting room, her eyes red-rimmed and angry.   
  
"Aura, what happened?"   
  
"Azure... tried to kill herself," Aura said, choking the words out.   
  
"What?" Adam's eyes went wide. "Why?"   
  
"Sit down," Aura beckoned them all down. "I've got some things to tell you guys... all of you."   
  
The Rangers all sat, staring at her. Quietly, Aura explained about Eric Matthews, how he and Azure had once dated back in New York City. He'd turned out to be quite the opposite of the gentleman she'd thought he was, and the Rangers listened in fascinated horror as Aura told how he'd raped Azure only a couple of years before.   
  
"Is that who she saw the day this all started?" Adam asked. Aura nodded, then went on, telling how she'd happened on the scene, and had nearly killed Eric then.   
  
"This time, I'm going to finish the job," Aura promised, half to herself.   
  
"Not if I get my hands on him first," Adam growled. Just then, a doctor headed towards them purposefully.   
  
"Waiting for Azure Robinson's results?" he asked gently. Adam leapt to his feet.   
  
"How is she?"   
  
"She'll be fine," the doctor reassured him. "We pumped her stomach and cleared the pills out of it, she'll be home in about a week or two."   
  
"Can we see her?" Adam asked hopefully. The doctor nodded.   
  
"One at a time please," the doctor advised. Adam sighed in relief, and glanced at Aura.   
  
"Tell her I'm here for her," he asked. Aura nodded, and headed down to where Azure rested. Her sister looked out the window, shadows in her eyes.   
  
"Azure?" she asked softly as she came in and sat down. "Are you mad at me?"   
  
"I want to be," Azure still stared out the window. Aura worried about her so much...   
  
"I couldn't let you die. I just couldn't!" Aura took Azure's hand gently. Her sister turned to look at her; tears ran down her cheeks.   
  
"I couldn't let Eric rule my life, either."   
  
Aura sighed. "If you had died, he would've won."   
  
Azure's eyes widened. "I didn't think about that," she sighed. "You didn't tell Adam, did you?"   
  
Aura nodded. "I had to. They had to know; they all know."   
  
Azure turned away from Aura, tears flowing a bit more. "Great! Now Adam probably won't want to see me again!"   
  
Her sister smiled a trifle. She could at least give Azure some good news on that account. "He's out in the waiting room. He said to tell you he's here for you."   
  
"Really?" Hope filled Azure's voice.   
  
"I don't lie, little sister," Aura squeezed Azure's hand. "Especially not to you, of all people.   
  
* * *   
  
There was dark rejoicing on the moon when Azure's condition became known there. "So, the Amber Ranger's sister tried to kill herself. You have done well, Eric!"   
  
Eric grinned nastily as Zedd complimented him. "Thanks! Too bad Aura was there to stop her. Those two never split up!"   
  
Zedd looked appraisingly at Eric. _Does he deserve to know? He nearly got rid of the Amber brat's sister... yes_. "Eric," Zedd gestured him closer to the throne. "Tell me about your family, your mother especially. How is she? I haven't seen her since you were born!"   
  
"Oh, mom's fine, she disowned me when I got put into Juvie Hall, though," Eric answered almost without thinking, then precisely what Zedd was saying hit him. "What?!"   
  
Zedd would have been smiling if he were able to. "Yes, Eric. I'm your father. Your mother never told you about me, apparently!"   
  
"She... she said he... she said I'd have to see him to believe what he looked like," Eric was more than astonished as he stared at Zedd. His mother hadn't lied to him!   
  
"What!" Rita was glaring at both of them. Zedd glanced casually over at her.   
  
"I passed by Earth a few years ago, had a romantic fling while in disguise, and stayed just long enough to find out I'd had a son," Zedd explained. "I was going to bring him with me when I left; his mother was the goody-two-shoes type; I really should have avoided her in the first place. But she managed to get away with him." The Emperor of Evil looked disgusted at that. "But now I have found you again! Rita, this is your stepson, Eric!"   
  
He looked over at Eric. "Will you join us, son, in destroying the Rangers and taking over the world?"   
  
Eric grinned wildly. "Yeah... dad!!!!"   
  
* * *   
  
"Hey, Azure." She turned to see Adam coming into the room, a gentle smile on his face. "You look good even in a hospital gown."   
  
"I don't," Azure shook her head. How could he still love her? She was an idiot!   
  
"To me you do," Adam told her, taking her hand.   
  
"To you, I'd look good in burlap!" she smiled smally. Adam nodded.   
  
"Because I love you," he told her, pressing a kiss to her lips. How could he stop loving her?   
  
"You're not mad at me?" Azure asked, unable to look him in the eyes just then.   
  
"For not telling me about Eric?" he wondered. He had understood her reluctance to speak of Eric as soon as Aura had explained everything to him.   
  
"And this," she gestured around the hospital room and the IVs in her arm. He shook his head again.   
  
"I'm not mad. A little disappointed, but not mad. People make mistakes," Adam reassured her. His smile changed to a frown almost at once though. "And Eric's mistake was messing with you so much you tried that."   
  
"I almost ended my life," Azure's voice shook as she thought of how close she had come to it. It had been the only answer she'd been able to come up with at the time.   
  
"And mine wouldn't have been worth living without you," Adam told her as he wrapped her so very carefully in his loving arms.   
  
"I'm scared, Adam," Azure shook uncontrollably. He stroked her hair, soothing her.   
  
"Azure, I'm always here for you, we all are," he reminded her. In that moment, though neither said anything, both knew what they were destined for: each other.   
  
"I should've told you earlier," she finally said after a timeless moment.   
  
"Yeah, you should've," Adam agreed. "But now you know better, don't you?"   
  
Azure sighed. "I hope I can face him if he shows up again."   
  
"I don't think he's going to," Adam thought back to just before he'd come into the room. "Not if Aura gets to him first. When she left here, she looked ready to kill."   
  
Azure remembered something. "Did she tell you that he knows about her? About her being a Ranger, an alien, all of it?"   
  
"No, she didn't," Adam looked surprised. Aura had only told them of what had happened between Eric and Azure in the past; she hadn't mentioned how Eric had found them again. He'd noticed she'd left some things out of her story; there had been gaps, but he'd attributed that to her worry over Azure.   
  
"Zedd's got his hand in this whole thing; he was the one who brought Eric here," Azure clutched at Adam's hand. "Adam, stop her, please!"   
  
Adam was already heading for the door. "I'll be back."   
  
"Be careful," were her parting words to him.   
  
* * *   
  
_So I'm the son of Lord Zedd. How interesting. Wish I'd known this when I was a kid, Azure would never have turned me down then. I probably could've destroyed that blasted sister of hers easily if I'd known. Well, I know now. And nothing's going to stand in my way of having what I want. And I want Azure_.   
  
Eric was watching the tide come in on Angel Grove Beach. He heard footsteps behind him and heard a cold growl he knew well. "Eric."   
  
He slowly turned to see Aura standing behind him, her eyes burning with hate. "Aura. How is your sister? Did she enjoy her brush with death?"   
  
Aura was on him in a moment, her hand circling his throat. "You did that to her. It's your fault."   
  
Eric shook his head, as best he could. "I didn't put the pills in her hand! You can't convict me on that!"   
  
"You were the one haunting her, hanging around, calling, pestering her, stalking her!" Aura snapped. She was seconds away from morphing and giving this idiot a taste of the power of the Earth's sworn Ranger.   
  
"I still love her!" Eric insisted. "That is how I show my affection!"   
  
Aura's stomach turned at the thought of that. "You don't understand the meaning of love!" She tightened her grip on his throat almost until he couldn't breathe. "You wouldn't know love if it hit you!"   
  
A familiar, and very unwelcome, grip pulled her away from Eric, throwing her onto the sand. "Enough, Ranger!" Goldar snarled. "Leave the son of Lord Zedd alone!"   
  
"_WHAT?!?!_" Aura's eyes widened with shock. She couldn't have heard what she just did.   
  
"You heard him," Eric favored her with a superior smirk. She might be an alien, but he was the son of Zedd himself!   
  
Aura stared. "I think I'm going to be sick," she murmured half to herself. "You're Zedd's son. Oh, Azure is going to be sick when I tell her!"   
  
It didn't even occur to Aura to think they were lying, something she couldn't identify, something that came from the part of her that was the Amber Ranger, told her they were telling the truth.   
  
Eric glanced at Goldar, smiling cruelly. "Think we should put our first Ranger in the trophy case?"   
  
Goldar nodded, glaring at Aura, who morphed even as Eric was speaking. "Yes, my prince!"   
  
"Sorry, I'm _no one's _trophy, least of all yours!" With a flexing of a mental muscle, she called her Axe to her.   
  
"Pathetic," Eric scoffed at her weapon as Zedd's staff appeared in his hands. "A gift from my father! Let's see if I know how to use this!"   
  
Goldar rushed at Aura, his sword upraised. Aura blocked his attack and pushed him away, trying to keep an eye on Eric at the same time. "Don't you ever learn, Goldar?"   
  
"What is there to learn?" The two warriors circled each other warily, neither taking their eyes off the other.   
  
"That you don't win when you fight against me!" Aura realized the lie of that as soon as she said it; he'd won a few fights against her, and she had the bruises and scars to prove it.   
  
"I can easily defeat you, Kalakan!" He managed even to make the name of her native world sound like an insult. Aura chuckled.   
  
"How many times have you told me that?"   
  
"None!" Goldar rushed at her, she was forced to block and return his blows as best she could. "I've always called you human before!"   
  
"Whatever," Aura shrugged. "You still aren't going to defeat me this time!"   
  
"But I _can!_" was all Aura heard as a flash of turquoise light struck her. Pain racked her body as she was driven to her knees, grunting with agony. Blast it! she thought. _Took my eyes off Eric, and he's got Zedd's staff. Things just changed a whole lot for the worse!_   
  
The pain faded and she managed to struggle to her feet. As she did so, a welcome voice came to her ears. "Let's see how you do against two Rangers!"   
  
She looked up to see Adam, already morphed, there. She took a deep, grateful breath; the Amber and Black Rangers had had a distance between them at one time, but that was ended now. She had never been so glad to see him, or anyone!   
  
"You okay?" he asked, glancing briefly towards her. She nodded, then gestured towards Eric, still holding Zedd's staff and smirking.   
  
"Adam, meet the scumbag of creation, also known as Eric Matthews. Scum, this is Adam, the Black Ranger, Azure's boyfriend and I'd imagine incredibly upset at the moment."   
  
Adam took a long, appraising glance at Eric. "So you're the jerk who put my girlfriend in the hospital!"   
  
Goldar growled, "You should refer to Lord Zedd's son with more respect!"   
  
Adam stared at Aura. "Please tell me he's joking!" Aura shook her head. "That's gross! Power Axe!"   
  
Aura rushed Eric just as Adam ran into battle with Goldar. The fights didn't last long, but Aura's with Eric ended with a powerful kick that could very well have destroyed Zedd's chances at becoming a grandfather.   
  
"You little..." Eric rattled off a few insults to Aura that she merely chuckled over as he and Goldar teleported back to the moon. She glanced at Adam.   
  
"Come on, Azure's worried about you," Adam told her. "She sent me to make sure you didn't get in over your head."   
  
Aura chuckled. "She worries over me as much or more as I worry over her!"   
  
Adam smiled as they demorphed. "And as much as I worry over her. And with Eric around, we have a lot to worry about."   
  
* * *   
  
Zedd stared as Eric appeared back on the moon, bent over in pain. "What happened?" Who had dared to attack his son?   
  
"That Amber Ranger! Aura!" Eric spat the words out with hate. "She kicked me!"   
  
"She will pay for this! Even if it means with her and her sister's lives!" Zedd snarled. No one did this to his son!   
  
"No," Eric shook his head. "Not Azure. I want her for my own." He'd wanted her for years.   
  
Zedd examined his son carefully. "You care for her, don't you?"   
  
"I want her," Eric explained. "And I love her."   
  
Zedd nodded. "So be it! Azure's life will be spared, but not Aura's. She has defied me too long as is, and she will pay!"   
  
* * *   
  
Azure stared up at the ceiling, hoping Adam could get to Aura before anything happened to her. Eric knew Aura's secrets, knew she was a Ranger, an alien... the trouble he could cause for her was unimaginable. Azure tried hard not to think of what Eric could... and had... and wanted to do again to herself. The sound of footsteps caused her to look at the door. She smiled to see both Aura and Adam there.   
  
"I thought I was only allowed one visitor at a time!" she chuckled. It was good to see both of them there.   
  
Aura grinned. "I snuck back in when no one was looking."   
  
Azure sighed. "You would. What happened?"   
  
Her sister came in and sat down next to her. "Azure, I hope you've got a strong stomach."   
  
Azure frowned. "There's not much left in there at the moment." What was Aura not telling her?   
  
"Eric is... Zedd's son," Azure's eyes widened as Adam took her hand.   
  
"What?" She couldn't believe what she'd heard! Aura quietly repeated it. "No, please! Someone tell me this is nothing but a cruel joke!"   
  
"I don't joke about things like this, Azure," Aura said firmly. Azure knew she was serious; Aura's jokes were usually reserved for much more appropriate occasions.   
  
"He had Zedd's staff," Adam added. "And was using it," Aura winced as Adam mentioned that.   
  
"Tell me about it," she murmured. Azure grabbed for Aura's hand, trying to see what he'd done.   
  
"What did he do to you?" Azure asked. Her sister smiled wanly.   
  
"Nothing I didn't live through, just some sort of beam that really hurt. If it weren't for Adam, though, I think it would've gotten a lot worse. Thanks, Adam. I owe you one now."   
  
"I'm glad I told him," Azure gripped Adam's hand with her free one and stared glowingly into his eyes.   
  
"No problem," Adam smiled. "We're both going to have to keep an eye on Azure. With that jerk on the loose, I'm not taking any chances anymore."   
  
Aura nodded. "He's even more dangerous now, hooked up with Zedd and Rita."   
  
"There's no chance of him going back to JV Hall, then," Azure sighed. She'd felt safer with him locked up where he couldn't do any harm.   
  
The elder Robinson girl shook her head. "And now that he knows about us, the Rangers, and about where I come from, we don't have any secrets from him," she whispered as a nurse passed by. "Things have gotten a lot more dangerous now."   
  
"There's one thing I don't want to keep from him," Azure smiled at Adam. "How much this guy here means to me!"   
  
"And how much you mean to me!" Adam smiled back. Aura giggled and stood up.   
  
"I'll leave you two lovebirds alone," she said, heading for the door. "You two talk. I've got to go to tell the others about what we know about Eric now."   
  
"Aura," Azure's speaking of her name halted Aura in her tracks. "Thank you for saving my life. I owe you one."   
  
Aura shook her head. "No, you don't. That's what sisters are for. Besides, you've saved my sanity about four times over."   
  
Azure's eyes filled with love. "I still need to say it. I love you, Aura."   
  
"And I love you, Azure," Aura smiled, waved, and headed down the hall towards the waiting room. The other Rangers were sitting in various chairs and couches, waiting for any sort of report.   
  
"How is she?" Billy asked, getting up and going over to her. She waited until she was close enough to all of them to deliver her shocking news.   
  
"She'll be fine," Aura started off. "Adam's with her. Guys, I've got something to tell you. It's about Eric."   
  
Tommy groaned a bit. Aura technically was and wasn't one of the Power Rangers, her powers came directly from the Spirit of Earth, not the Morphin Grid like theirs. She worked with them and was considered in all ways one of them, but certain rules didn't apply to her that normally did to them. She kept her identity secret only because of her friendship with the others; by tradition the sworn Ranger of any planet was publicly known and honored.   
  
"Please tell me you let the cops arrest him before you hurt him!" the White Ranger sighed. After hearing what Eric had done to Azure though, he secretly wouldn't have minded if she'd sliced him into ribbons.   
  
"He's Zedd's son," Aura said flatly. Five Rangers stared at her in complete and utter shock. They could no more doubt this than she could.   
  
"Damn!" was the only thing Tommy could say. Aura nodded.   
  
"That's about how I felt!" 

**The End**


	10. Split Amber

**Split Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

Things had went from bad to worse, as far as Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa were concerned. Not even Eric Matthews' arrival and revelation as Zedd's illegitimate son could make things any better in Rita's opinion. As far as she was concerned, that made things even worse! 

She stood by her Repulsascope, staring incessently down at Earth, where Aura and Billy were being disgustingly sweet towards each other. Rita sighed, remembering how evil Aura had once been. _Oh, well, nothing lasts forever. And we'll outlive the Rangers, if nothing else. . .wait. . .that's it!_

Rita turned to Zedd, cackling evilly. "I've got it, Zeddy! Why don't I cast a spell on that Amber twit so that she will slowly _die_!" 

Zedd laughed as the beauty of it hit him. "Excellent plan! Make sure you get it right; those death-spells are tricky!" 

Rita snorted as she headed for her spellcasting chamber. "What kind of amateur do you think I am?" 

"I don't know, how many kinds are there, sis?" Rito asked her retreating back. * * * 

Rita arranged everything in her spellroom and prepared to destroy the Amber Ranger. It had been far too long at any rate. _Maybe I'll even get rid of Eric once I've done in Aura. Zedd won't mind, once we've defeated the Power Rangers._

She began the spellcasting, concentrating on the task at hand. The spell she'd chosen would slowly freeze Aura's heart, giving her less than an hour to live once it was fully cast. The Rangers would have only sixty short minutes to watch their precious friend wither and die. She smiled lightly, imagining the look of horror and pain in Billy's eyes as Aura died in front of him. 

"Hey, stepmom!" Eric's voice interrupted her casting. She glared at him visciously; who knew what effect a botched spellcasting could have? "What're you doing?" 

_"Get out!"_

Eric chuckled nastily. "Hey, I'm just tryiing to get to know my new family!" 

Rita roared, "Well, you almost ruined a spell I'm working on to destroy the Amber Ranger!" 

Eric backed away. "Why didn't you say so? It wouldn't have been any trouble to put up a sign on the door 'I'm destroying the Amber Ranger, come back later!'" 

Rita rolled her eyes at the imbecile, then screeched at the top of her lungs, "Out!" 

Chuckling under his breath, Eric left, and Rita returned to her spell. * * * 

Aura lay on her bed, staring at her photo of Billy. It had been a week since Azure's attempt, and she would be getting out of the hospital later that day. Except for Eric's return, and Zedd's acknowledgment of him as his son, things were going great for both girls. 

_I haven't been this happy. . .well. ..well, I've never been this happy. I love Billy, he loves me, Azure has Adam, and we'll take care of Zedd, Rita, and Eric one day very soon!_

Aura rolled over and reached for the phone; she couldn't wait another second to hear Billy's voice. A few swift motions, and a moment later, "Hello?" 

"Hey, Billy, it's me," Aura drank in the sound of his voice. Six months was just far too long to go without it. 

There was a smile and love in Billy's voice. "How're you doing? It's been a while." 

"Yeah, how long? About an hour since we were practicing at the Youth Center, right?" Aura chuckled. "I was just sitting here thinking about you. You know how much I think about you, right?" _Probably not much more often than I breathe._

"Yeah, I know," Billy told her. "I think about you the same amount." 

_I don't think that's possible._ "Really?" Aura wondered. Suddenly, a pain that dwarfed what she'd felt during Kalakan's explosion racked her body. A strangled scream burst from her lips as she bent over, unable to even think. There was a terrible internal hemmoraging that seemed to go on forever. 

Then, mercifully, it ended. Aura straightened up and stared across the room: straight into Aura's eyes. If anyone had been in the room, they would have been shocked to see two Aura's, identical in every physical respect, in the room. One remained on the phone with Billy, the other leaned against the wall, a cold glint in her eyes. 

"Aura?" Good Aura, the essence of sweetness, love, and light, heard Billy's voice calling worriedly through the phone. "Aura, what's wrong? I heard you screaming!" 

"I'm fine, Billy," she replied. "I'm sorry if I worried you." 

"What happened?" Billy had heard the raw pain in her voice; if anything was wrong, he wanted to know about it. 

"Just a small pain," a sweet giggle sounded. "It's nothing at all," Billy was far too busy to be worried over such a small thing as her being split into her good and evil selves. 

"If you're sure," Billy wanted to see her, though. "Hey, why don't you meet me in the park later? We can go for a walk together." 

"Oh, I'd love to, dearest," the pure essence of Aura's good laughed a merry laugh. "When would you like to meet?" 

"How about in an hour?" 

"I'll be counting the seconds until we're together again," oh, how she loved him! 

"Okay, see you then," Billy hung up, glancing out the window to Aura's room. He hoped nothing really was wrong with her. * * * 

"Hello," Good Aura stared into eyes as gleaming gray as her own. But where hers were full of light and joy and blissful hope, these were ice-hard and dripping with malice. 

Evil Aura, the distilled essence of all that twisted and foul about Aura Robinson, leered at her twin. "So what's up, loser?" 

"I must say you are quite beautiful," Good Aura smiled at the mirror image of herself across the room. Evil Aura snorted. 

"I should be. So, where you meeting him?" 

"In the park in an hour," Good Aura replied. "Please, I must request you not to interfere," her evil half must not be permitted to harm Billy. 

Evil Aura pouted. "And why not?" 

"It isn't right," Good Aura explained. "It isn't polite to attempt to take away another's beloved." 

"Sometimes wrong is a lot more _fun!_" Evil Aura rolled her eyes. "Look, kid, we're the same person, we can share him." 

Good Aura shook her head. "How would Billy feel about that?' 

"He doesn't even need to know!" 

"It would be wrong for him not to know. I will tell him as soon as I see him what has happened to us. We need to be reunited." 

Evil Aura sighed. "You're no fun, twin," she smiled briefly. "Look, why don't you go change for your date?" 

Good Aura glanced down at the jeans and T-shirt she'd been wearing, then headed for the closet. "Yes, I must find something more ladylike for the date." 

As she began to rummage through the closet, she felt a hard push in the middle of her back, forcing her into the closet. She turned to see her evil half closing the door, then heard something being pushed in front of it. 

"Please, let me out!" she called, hoping no one was disturbed by her necessarily loud voice. 

"I don't _think_ so!" Evil Aura laughed wickedly as she began to search around for some appropriate for what she had in mind. 

"Why are you doing this, my other half?" Good Aura wanted to know. 

"I have my own plans for Billy!" Evil Aura locked the door as she headed out. Things were already coming together nicely. * * * 

"Rita!" Zedd bellowed. "Your spell split that Ranger into two people!" 

Rita was quick to shift the blame. "It's all that twit son of your's fault! He interrupted me while I was spellcasting!" 

"I didn't know!" Eric protested. He stared down at Earth. "You know, this could work to our advantage. Confuse the Rangers," he grinned lightly and glanced back at the two Auras. "I can sneak in and get Azure," he whispered. 

"That one Aura is so sweet I think I'm going to be sick!" Rita felt sick just watching Good Aura. Zedd and Eric both agreed. 

"May I talk to the Evil Aura, Dad? Get her to join our side perhaps?" 

Zedd nodded. "That might not be so bad of an idea. You may try." 

"Thanks, Dad!" Eric chuckled. "I'll need something to offer her, though." 

"I have an idea," as Zedd explained it, Rita groaned to herself. 

_All that work, and all I did was give Eric a chance to show off!! Oh, this is giving me such a headache!!_ * * * 

Evil Aura headed towards the park, a small grin curving her lips as she examined her outfit. It was just the perfect thing to meet Billy in: an extremely short and tight black leather skirt, a black silk shirt and high heels. 

_Oh, I am going to have such fun with Billy. He doesn't know what he's getting himself into by meeting me today: but I do. Fun just doesn't describe what I'm going to do to him: and with him._

"Hello, Aura," a familiar voice broke into her thoughts. She looked up to see Eric standing near her. "My, don't you look delicious." 

Evil Aura smiled thinly. "Eric, what do_ you_ want? I'm on the way to meet a much better looking guy than you," she looked him up and down appraisingly. "But you're not too bad yourself." 

Eric chuckled. "I've got a proposition for you. I want Azure, you know that. I need your help to get her." 

"What's in it for me?" 

He smiled. "You help me, and I provide you a location where Billy will be kept to do your bidding and desires." 

Evil Aura grinned with delight. "Just where might this location be?" 

"A little dimension I know of. It's private, cozy, no one goes there, unless given permission. And I have permission to give it to you for whatever purposes you see fit, once I have Azure." 

"It's a deal!" Evil Aura nodded her head; this was perfect! Her own little place to keep the Blue Ranger in forever, to do anything and everything her perverted mind could come up with! 

"Good. Here's what I had in mind," Eric handed her a small device. "You get Azure alone with you, then press the button on this. I'll come and collect her." 

She nodded and slid it into a pocket. "No problem. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a blue boyfriend to go grab. _Then_ I'll snatch that sis of mine for you." 

Eric nodded. "Till we meet again!" he teleported back to the moon, well pleased with how the plan was progressing so far. * * * 

Billy sat on a bench in the park; waiting for Aura to show up. He was worried about her; that scream hadn't sounded like 'nothing' was wrong. Something told him he was right to be worried; that something was going on, but he wasn't sure what it was. Aura had sounded a bit different afterwards. . .but he'd had Zordon and Alpha scan for any traces of Zedd, Rita, Eric, Goldar, and Tengas, just in case. The scan had turned up nothing; only Aura had been in her room at the time of her scream. 

A low, inviting voice came from behind him. "Hey, Billy," he turned around to see. . . 

"Aura?" his eyes widened in shock as he took in the tight clothing and alluring look in her eyes. 

"Yeah, it's me," she smiled, not her usual smile at all. She leaned over the bench, very close to him, her lips curving lightly. 

"What happened to you?" 

"Don't you like the new me?" Aura turned in place, showing off an outfit that fit as closely as a second skin to her. Billy took a deep breath; this was a side of Aura he'd never seen before. 

"I'd like to know what happened to the old you first!" Billy exclaimed, automatically moving back as she moved closer to him. Aura chuckled, obviously enjoying some private joke. Before he could get out of reach, she pulled him into a passionate embrace that made every other time they'd kissed seem like mere children's fooling around. After a shocked moment, Billy found himself returning the kiss. 

The kiss ended abruptly when Billy pulled away from Aura's questing hands. "Aura!" he stared at her in startled shock. 

"What?" she licked her lips and headed for him again, obviously intent on continuing what she'd begun. 

"I'm not sure we should be moving _that_ fast!" Billy had no idea what had started Aura on this, and he also had no idea if he really wanted her to stop! 

"Fast?" Aura's grin quite literally frightened him. "Billy dear, we've been dating for about a month, and known each other most of our lives. That's not fast at all." 

"Aura!" Billy stared. "We are in the middle of the park!" Maybe that would cool her enthusiasm somewhat! He was out of luck, however, as Aura moved even closer to him, almost pinning him against the back of the bench. 

"So?" she purred, wrapping an arm around his neck and pulling him closer for another of those heart-stopping kisses. She stopped after almost a minute and looked at him with smoldering eyes. "Of course, we could always go to your house. Much more comfortable and private there." 

Billy leaped gratefully to his feet; maybe the walk would cool her down some. "Okay!" As they headed for his house, Aura kept an arm wrapped around him every step of the way. Every now and then she kissed him, and he was convinced only the fact they were in public stopped her from doing far more than kissing. She quite literally pulled him into his room when they reached his house. 

"Whoa, Aura, I can only move so fast!" she had him backed up against a wall almost as soon as they got into the room. "Aura, what happened to you earlier?" Maybe he could get some answers, and get her mind of what was plainly on it. 

"Oh, when I was screaming on the phone?" she continued to back him further and further into the room. He nodded. "That was just me realizing how much of a wimp I've been all these years." 

He shook his head. "I never thought of you as a wimp." 

Aura smiled, and he most definitly did _not_ like that smile. "You were wrong. But I'm not a wimp anymore. I take what I want now. I don't just sit around waiting for it to come to me," as she spoke, she backed him further towards her goal: the open closet at the end of the room. "What's the matter, Billy? Don't you like me now?" 

"I've always liked you. .. I've always loved you. . . I'm just not ready for this!" 

"I think you are," Aura's lips curved into a cruel smile; she was almost at the closet. "I know I am. I want you, Billy" He was just in front of the closet now, and with one powerful shove, she pushed him into it. Another smooth movement, and she had the dresser in front of it. "But I'm willing to wait, til I have you all to myself." 

"Aura!" Billy screamed, taken totally by surprise. "What are you doing?" 

"I locked you in a closet," she said dryly. "Can't you tell?" a cold laugh sounded, chilling his soul. "Now I've got a deal to keep with Eric." 

_"Aura!_ You can't _seriously_ be thinking what I think you are! _Don't hand Azure over to that psycho!"_ * * * 

Azure turned her eyes up to the warm sun shining down and laughed. "Oh, it feels so good to be out of the hospital!" 

"It's good to see you out of there!" Adam told her as they walked down to the Robinsons' house. "Hey, do you want to go camping this weekend?" 

Azure nodded. "It'll be good to get out of the city, and a perfect ending to a perfect week: a week without Eric showing his face even _once!_" 

"I love you, Azure," Adam took her hand and gazed into her eyes. Azure looked back at him, love filling those twin orbs. 

"I've never been happier in my life. Thank you for everything," she told him. As they kissed, they heard a throat being cleared. 

"Hey, guys," it was Aura. Azure pulled away and smiled a little. 

"Why does this happen every time?" she chuckled. "Hi, Aura!" 

Aura grinned at what she'd interrupted. "Hey, Adam, Alpha needs to see you about something at the Command Center. He would've called you on the communicators, but apparently they're messing up or something." 

Adam shrugged. "Wonder what he wants. Okay, I'm on it," he tapped his communicator and teleported away. Aura came over to Azure, smiling. 

"So, sis, what have you two been up to since you got out of the hospital?" 

"Just talking," Azure told here. Aura slipped her hand into a pocket and casually pulled out the device Eric had given her and pressed the button. "What was that?" She found out a moment later when Eric appeared out of thin air next to her. _"No!" _

She tried to run, only to find Aura there, a cold smile on her face as her sister grabbed her. Eric smiled. "Thanks for the call, Aura." 

"Not a problem," Evil Aura gripped her sister tightly. "Nope you're not leaving, except with him!" 

"Why?" Azure asked, betrayal in her eyes and on her face. Evil Aura ignored her to ask Eric, "How do I get to that little dimension you promised me?" 

"This will lead you there," Eric threw her another device which she caught as she tossed Azure back to him. 

"Have fun with her," she said coldly. "I'm going to go have fun with _my_ guy!" 

"Aura! NO!" Azure screamed as she and Eric vanished. Aura chuckled and headed back to Billy's house._ Time for some fun and games with the guy of my dreams: who will be with the woman of his nightmares!_ * * * 

Adam arrived at the Command Center, and the first words out of his mouth were, "What did you want, Alpha?" 

Alpha stared at him. "I didn't want anything. What do you mean?" 

Adam frowned. "Aura told me you wanted to see me, and that communications were down." 

Alpha shook his head. "Aura hasn't been here all day, and communications are just fine!" 

Adam felt a thin thread of fear running up his spine. "Alpha," he said slowly. "Locate Azure." 

The robot got to work; a moment later, he stared at Adam. "Ay-yi-yi, look at the Viewing Globe!" 

Adam didn't want to look, but did anyway. As he saw Azure struggling in Eric's grip in the Lunar Palace, his whole body tensed up. Quietly, he spoke. "Alpha, teleport Aura here. I've got a few choice words to say to her." 

Alpha at once ran scans to locate the Amber Ranger, and what he found startled him to the best of a robot's ability to be startled. "Ay-yi-yi, I'm getting two life readings from her!" 

"Two?" Adam stared at the results; but they were unmistakeable. Indeed, there seemed to be two Auras! One was in her own house, the other seemed to be in another dimension! "Get that one and the other Rangers here now. The one in her house some explaining to do about what's going on here!" 

As everyone arrived, minus Billy, Aura smiled sweetly at them. "Hello, everyone!" 

"What's going on, Aura?" Adam growled at her. He hadn't looked or sounded this angry in months. 

"What do you mean, Adam?" she looked concenred. "And where is Billy?" 

Rocky also noticed the change in the Black Ranger. "What's wrong with you, Adam?" 

"Eric got Azure, right after _Aura_ told me Alpha wanted to see me about something." 

Aura frowned. "Oh, that must have been my twin. She isn't nice at all." She quickly explained that she was only half of the real Aura, and that her other half was almost literally evil incarnate. 

Alpha jerked up suddenly. "I've located Billy. He's in the dimension with Aura's other lifesign!" * * * 

"Adam will save me!" Azure pulled at her chains as she stared at the face of the man she hated most in all the world. "I will _never_ love you, Eric, never!" 

"Oh, but you will," Eric chuckled. " And you'll make me such a lovely bride." 

"I will not make any kind of bride to you!" Azure swore. Eric grabbed her head and held it still, forcing her into a kiss. 

"Why not?" he asked before she bit his tongue. "I'm going to have to train you better than that. Stepmother!" 

Rita rustled over, eyes flashing with anger._ I can't believe Zedd wants me to help out his asinine son with his idiotic plans!!!!! _"What is it?" 

"Do you have a spell of some type? I'm not good enough at this magic stuff yet to make it stick. Something to make her love me and be my bride?" 

"A love spell?" Rita snapped her fingers and a bottle appeared in her hand. "Just spray this on her." 

Eric did so and then looked at Azure, grinning. "Now what do you say, my dear?" 

Azure closed her eyes, then opened them again. How could she ever have loved anyone else but Eric? "Whatever you want, my love." * * * 

Tommy paced up and down the Command Center, casting occasinal glances at the sickly-sweet Aura, who almost glowed with purity and goodness. _She's enough to give someone diabetes!_ For a change, he glanced at the viewing globe, and what he saw there turned his stomach even more. 

"Um, Adam, you might not want to look at the viewing globe," that probably wasn't the smartest thing to say, as Adam at once turned to see. Reflected in it were Azure and Eric, wrapped in a deep kiss. 

"Oh, man!" Adam stared, his heart pounding with rage. "I can't watch this! We've got to get her away from him!" 

Aisha glanced at the globe. "Doesn't look like she wants to. That's _sick!_" 

"We've got to break the spell," Adam started searching for a way to get past the shields on the lunar palace. Without Billy, things weren't as easy as they seemed. 

"It must be a spell of some sort," Kat agreed. "No one would be desperate enough to try and kill themselves one week and french kiss the guy who drove them to it the next week!" 

Good Aura spoke up. "Perhaps if you could reunite me with my other side, I can rescue her." 

Adam looked at her. "How do we get you two back together?" 

She shrugged. "I don't know. Perhaps if my twin were here, Zordon in his infinte wisdom could figure out some way." 

RANGERS, RETRIEVE BILLY AND THE OTHER AURA. ALPHA AND I WILL START BUILDING A DEVICE TO REUNITE THEM. 

"Let us go," Good Aura suggested. Tommy stopped them quickly. 

"Let's not take any chances. It's morphin' time!" * * * 

Evil Aura looked around as she and Billy arrived in the alternate dimension. She smiled evilly. "Here we are. A nice little place just for us." 

"Aura, please. . .," Billy protested; he didn't know where they were, this place didn't seem to have any furniture in it besides an endless amount of downy pillows. 

"All right," she grinned as she leaped on him, bearing him to the 'ground'. "I will!" 

"No, please, don't!" 

Aura laughed. "Oh, come on, Billy. You can't say you don't want to do this!" 

Billy's eyes widened in shock as Evil Aura began to show him just why she'd brought him to that little semi-romantic place. "What do you think, Billy?" she asked, posing in a pile of clothing. She pulled him into another deep and passionate kiss, one that left all the others so far behind it wasn't even funny. She murmured, "I told you you wanted it. . .and me. . .." 

As Aura ran her fingers through Billy's mussed hair, the Blue Ranger realized things were never quite going to be the same between him and Aura. He also realized. . .he liked that. . . * * * 

Neither of them knew, or cared, how much later, they were recovering from their exertions. Aura murmured. "Oh, this is more than worth handing Azure over to Eric!" 

Billy, who had had an arm around her, pushed her away suddenly, staring in horror and disbelief. "You did what?" 

She smiled as she reached for him. "How do you think I got this cozy little place for us? What does it matter, anyway? She doesn't count." 

Billy grabbed her hands tightly. "She's your sister! Remember, she tried to take her life because of that bozo Eric!" 

Aura chuckled nastily. "So? Eric's not that bad. I'm a lot worse than he is. . .or could hope to be. . .when I put my mind to it." 

"I'll take my chances," Billy grabbed for his clothes. "But I wouldn't touch you with a ten foot pole now!" He couldn't believe what had just happened: not just what he'd done with Aura, but what she'd admitted to afterwards! With a gutteral growl, she leaped at him. 

"That's what you think, boy!" 

At that moment, the other Rangers teleported into the dimension. Billy struggled under Aura until someone lifted her off him. "Got your hands full, I see." 

"Please, Tommy, be gentle with her," Billy jerked his head around to see. . .Aura? He looked from one to the other. Yes, there were two of them! "She is a part of the true Aura, as am I." 

Evil Aura growled and kicked Tommy hard in a sensitive region of his body, and as the White Ranger doubled over in pain, she laughed. "You men just keep falling for that!" 

"If she's part of the real Aura, I'm gonna stay on her good side," Adam muttered. Good Aura shook her head. 

"I only do that when I have to, and I prefer not to do it." 

Her evil twin snarled, "Now that you've interrupted our fun, what do you all want here?" 

Without even looking at her, Rocky said, "Let's get then back together, and get Azure out of there." 

Evil Aura protested, "Hey! I went to a lot of trouble to give Azure to Eric!" 

Adam couldn't hold himself back, he knocked her halfway across the chamber with one good hit. "Shut up!" As he did so, Good Aura staggered back as well. 

"That wasn't nice!" she observed; but also didn't seem as angry by it as she was upset. That wasn't the case with her opposite, however, as Evil Aura jumped at the Black Ranger, swearing visciously. Adam pushed her off him, hardly able to contain his disgust at having to touch something so despicable. 

"Look, all I want to do is get my girlfriend back! Now we can do this democratically, or I can punch your lights out! It's up to you!" 

Evil Aura chuckled. "You hurt me, you hurt _her_ too!" Good Aura shook her head. 

"Go ahead, Adam, I understand." 

"You sure?" 

She nodded. "When I'm whole again, I will forgive you." 

"What a wimp!" Evil Aura rushed towards Adam, fist ready to strike. 

"You'd better!" Adam knocked Evil Aura back nearly a full ten feet with his return punch. "Or Azure might get upset at me!" 

Evil Aura glared at him. "My good half wouldn't do this. But I'm not her!" A moment later, the Amber Ranger stood before them. Adam groaned. 

"Great! Anyone got any rope?" 

Good Aura shook her head. "She . . .is only half as strong as the true Aura is. You can take her, Adam." 

"Thanks!" Adam smiled as he slugged Evil Aura in the stomach, causing both to stagger back. "Now, you coming quietly, or do I have to do that again!?" 

"Please, we must be reunited!" Good Aura pleaded with her other half. Evil Aura shook her head, spitting out, "Never!" 

That was what broke Adam's temper, however. He grabbed Evil Aura and twisted one arm harshly behind her back. "We're going!" 

All of them, Billy now properly dressed, teleported out of the dimensionette. Once they were back in the Command Center, Adam actually sat on Evil Aura, who was swearing fit to make the most hard-bitten of soldiers blush. Adam glanced at Alpha. "Ready?" 

"Ready!" Alpha held in his hands the device they hoped would rejoin the two Auras. Evil Aura tried to force her way up, but with six Rangers holding her down, it wasn't possible. When Alpha activated the device, a blinding light filled the room, so bright none of them could see. 

"Ohhh," after a few moments, they heard a groan. "Oh, that was a nightmare!" 

"Aura!" Adam moved off her and helped her to her feet as their sight slowly returned. "That was no dream!" 

Aura closed her eyes, then opened them again. "Oh, man, Azure's going to hate me forever for that! And I don't blame her!" 

Adam shrugged. "Time to get her out of there!" Once again, the Amber and Black Rangers teleported off together to rescue one they cared for. * * * 

Azure wrapped an arm around Eric and kissed him with unbridled passion. They were in his luxurious private quarters in Zedd's palace, and Azure was enjoying herself as she had never dreamed possible. "Funny how I never thought of you as such a wonderful man before." 

"Now you know best," Eric told her as he ran his fingers through her wealth of auburn hair. Azure purred in reply, 

"Yes, now I do." 

As their lips met once again, two flashes of light signaled the arrival of Aura and Adam. Azure sneered at them, "Well, if it isn't my sister and my ex-boyfriend!" 

"Azure, you're under a spell!" Aura pleaded with her, her mind jerking back suddenly to times past, when those same words had been asid to her. It looked as it Azure didn't believe them anymore than she herself had at the time. 

"Azure, please, get away from that filth!" Adam could hardly stand to see her with Eric, even if it did look willingly! 

Azure shook her head. "I don't think so, my dear sister. I finally realized who my true love is!" 

As she kissed Eric yet again, Adam and Aura exchanged pain-filled glances. "This doesn't look good," Aura took a deep breath. _Can we break this spell?_

Aura and Adam stared in shock as Azure, her sister and his girlfriend, kissed Eric with a passion usually reserved only for true love: not the spell-induced romance between them. Eric laughed coldly at them. "See, she loves me, not you, frog-boy!" 

"So sorry!" Azure's laughter was as cold as his. Adam tried once more to reason with her. He couldn't believe that there wasn't still some spark of love for him within her. 

"Azure, this is not you! You're under a spell, remember?" 

Azure rolled her eyes in contempt. "Did I not prove to you that I am not? What do I have to do to convince you? Kiss _you?_" 

"Yes!" Adam knew it was a cliche, that love conquered all, it simply wouldn't work, but at the very least, he would have one last kiss from her. She got off Eric's lap and came over as Adam removed his helmet. 

"I love you, Azure," he said as he swept her up into a kiss more passionate than words can describe. The love he had for her, and that she had for him, swept through Azure like a hurricane, volcano, and earthquake all combined into one. 

"A. . .Adam?" Azure blinked as the spell binding her to love Eric was swept away by the true love she had for Adam. She stared up at Adam, then swept her gaze back to Eric, who glared, realizing what was going on. 

Aura stood by, smiling, glad that it was over. All they had to do was go home now. She blushed badly as she remembered what else her evil half had done: with Billy. 

_We're definitly going to have to have a talk when we get back. I. . .almost have to thank whatever it was that split me like that; my evil half had the courage I never did, to really show how much I love him. Even if it wasn't quite the way I'd ever planned that to be._

Suddenly, without warning, a pain that was hatefully reminiscent of what had happened when she'd been split in two tore into her chest. Aura stumbled and fell, unable to stand. Azure turned and stared as Aura collapsed onto the floor, writhing in agony. 

"Aura! No!" she stepped towards her sister, only to be grabbed by Eric. 

"It's too late for your sister!" he smiled evilly. 

"Azure. . .," Aura whispered through her pain. "Adam. . .get out." 

"Let me go!" Azure elbowed Eric in the ribs and ran over to Aura. "No, Aura. We're not leaving without you!" 

She turned to glare at Eric, undisguised hatred in her eyes. "If you have any way to save her, you'd better do it now!" 

He smiled evilly. "Stay with me, Azure, and I might reverse it." 

Azure glanced down at Aura's pain-filled features, then to Adam, who stared as Aura died almost before his eyes. "If you save my sister, I will," she lowered her head in defeat as she spoke the words she'd sworn for years never to. 

Eric's lips curved into a thin smile. "Come over here and give me a kiss then. A real one." 

"No," Aura whispered as the pain doubled. "Don't trust him. . ." 

Azure shook her head. "I said I'd stay, but I'm not going to do that!" 

"A pity. Aura's going to die then." 

Adam watched, his heart breaking, as Azure looked at him again, mouthing, _I'm sorry_. She went over to Eric and kissed him. As she did so, Eric chanted briefly and wiggled a hand at Aura. "Okay, the spell's reversed now. Take her and get out of here, Black Ranger!" 

Adam picked Aura up and looked at the young woman he loved with all his heart. "Azure, I'll be back for you!" 

"Adam," Aura whispred, weakly plucking at his sleeve. "Still. . .hurts. . ." 

"I'll get you help," Adam promised. "Zordon will know how to reverse this: I hope." 

As they teleported out, Eric smiled triumphantly at Azure and pulled her closer to him. Azure pushed herself away from him. "You didn't reverse it, did you?" 

"Of course not!" What kind of idiot did she think he was? Azure slugged him hard, then collapsed to the floor, crying. 

"Oh, I'm sorry, Adam, please, forgive me!" What had she done? Not saved her sister: and condemned herself to being with this creep! * * * 

Adam and Aura arrived back at the Command Center, and when Billy took in Aura's pain-twisted face he rushed to take her from Adam. "Zordon, we need help, Aura's dying!" Adam cried as he did so. 

"What?" Billy stared in shock. 

"I think that's what they were trying to do to her originaly, kill her, but something went wrong. How can we help her?" Adam paced, staring alternately at Aura and at the Viewing Globe, which was showing Azure crying in the Lunar Palace. Alpha ran several quick scans on Aura, and as the results came in, things didn't look good. 

"The Spirit of Earth is the only being capable of healing her," the little robot reported. "And there are few who are permited to go to the Heart of Earth. Aura is one of them. The only other I know is. . ." 

"Me!" Ninjor appeared suddenly. "I can take her there!" 

"Ninjor," Adam stared. "Can you go there?" 

The armored Ninja Master nodded. "The Spirit of Earth and I are old friends. That is how I was able to guide Aura, who is of another world, to her Spirit Animal, and how I knew of the Spirit in the first place. I will take care of Aura, you return to the moon and get Azure!" 

Billy handed Aura carefully to Ninjor. "Please, bring her back to me safely, Ninjor. I love her." * * * 

"Leave me alone!" Azure pushed Eric away from her again. She had to get away, had to get home, had to help Aura! 

"No way!" Eric laughed as he reached for her yet again. He was having a wonderful time tormenting her. 

"I swear I'll scream if you don't!" 

"Go ahead," Eric encouraged her. "I like that!" 

However, he didn't like it when Azure delivered the 'patented Aura manuver' as the Rangers were taking to calling it. He staggered back, clutching himself, as Azure screamed at the top of her lungs, "Adam, don't leave me here!" 

"Wouldn't dream of it!" Adam chuckled as he and the other Rangers appeared. Azure ran straight into his open and welcoming arms. "Ninjor's taken Aura to the Spirit of Earth. She'll be healed there." 

Azure shivered a little. "I can't believe I fell for what he did." 

"It's okay," Adam stroked her hair lovingly. "Everything's going to be all right now." 

The younger Robinson girl shook her head. "Not yet. Not til Aura is back safe and sound," she glanced up at Adam. "Let's go home. We can wait for her at the Command Center." 

With Eric still distracted by Azure's kick, the Rangers were able to escape without anyone even noticing they'd been there. Once again, it seemed the Rangers had won the day. * * * 

As Ninjor appeared in the Heart of Earth, the dying Aura in his arms, the Spirit of Earth took shape. "Ninjor?" she asked gently. "Why do you visit me? I am honored!" 

"It is the Amber Ranger, Spirit," Ninjor told her. "She is dying!" 

The Spirit's eyes widened; she had sensed a strange division in Aura, but had not been able to determine what it was. "How is this possible?" 

"A spell of death was cast that seems to have backfired, it split Aura into two, her good and evil halves. When they were reunited, the spell took effect," Ninjor explained. "You must help her!" 

"The magic of evil is powerful, but love is more powerful still. Aura is well loved by her fellow Rangers, so she can be saved. Place her on the ground," as Ninjor did so, leaves from literally nowhere began to swirl around Aura's stilled body. Strange music seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at the same time, describable only as the music of life itself. The leaves became transparent and entered Aura's body, cleansing it of the evil magic that threatened to steal her life away from her. 

"Arise, Amber Ranger, and defend the Earth once more!" the Spirit bade her. Aura's eyes flickered, then opened firmly. She made her way to her feet and looked around. 

"Ninjor. .. Spirit. . .I. . what happened?" 

"Welcome back, Aura," the Spirit smiled, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You are lucky to have so many who care for you." 

"You scared us there, young lady!" Ninjor patted her on the back. Aura smiled at him, then turned to the Spirit. 

"Thank you for saving my life," she smiled. The Spirit caressed Aura's forehead with gentle fingers. 

"You are more than welcome. It is time for you to return home; there are many people anxious to see you there!" 

"Thank you," Aura said it again; she felt she had to. "I owe you my life now. Both of you." 

"You protect my life and my world, and I will do the same for you," the Spirit told her. "It is part of our bond." 

Aura smiled. "You gave me the power to protect you. It's only right that I do so. Now, I've got to get back. I need to see if they need my help in getting Azure back." 

As Aura and Ninjor teleported out of the Heart, the Spirit smiled softly to herself. _Oh, Aura. You have such a surprise coming to you. But you must learn this, of all things, by yourself._ * * * 

"Aura!" Azure rushed over to her sister as she and Ninjor arrived in the Command Center. They hugged each other tightly, each glad to see the other was all right and free. "I am so glad you're okay!" 

"Not _nearly_ as glad as I am to see that you are!" Aura told her. "Azure, I am so sorry for what that evil half of me did to you!" 

"Hey, it's ok," Azure smiled a little. "I'm only half-mad. . .at half of you!" 

"Oh, please don't tell me we're in for a bunch of half-jokes!" Rocky groaned, a smile teasing the corners of his mouth even as he did so. 

Adam chuckled. "We explained everything to Azurre. As you can tell, she's not really mad. Hey, am I forgiven for punching you earlier?" 

Aura laughed merrily; she couldn't resist this. "Half of me says yes, half of me says no!" 

As the whole team groaned at Aura's half-joke, half-pun, someone put a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Billy standing there, a curious look in his eyes. "Glad you're back." 

Aura went beet-red as the memories of what her evil half had done with Billy in the minor dimensionette flooded back to her. Billy was quick to attempt to reassure her. "It's all right, no one saw anything. . . well. . .not much, anyway!" 

"Is this something I should know about?" Azure wondered. It was rather evident from the way both Aura and Billy were acting that something more than just a kiss had happened in that dimension. Billy smiled a bit. 

"What is it, Aura?" the Amber Ranger shook her head violently. 

"N-nothing," she stuttered. _Oh, man, how am I ever going to live with myself after this? Much less be around Billy!_

He leaned a bit closer to her and whispered, "We'll talk about this later, okay?" 

Aura could only nod; she was far too embarassed to say anything. This had just taken their relationship to a level both of them had never really expected for a long time to come. * * * 

"How did it fail?" Zedd raged. "Aura was _dying_! We had Azure here, the Blue Ranger was going insane with worry, the Black Ranger wasn't even supposed to be able to think straight! What _happened?"_

"I don't know!" Eric lashed back at his father. "It's not my fault! If Rita hadn't made such a lousy spell, it would've worked!" 

"You were the one who interrupted me!" Rita shot back. Zedd waved them both quickly into silence. 

"I want Aura out of commission!" he declared. "Maybe. . .just maybe. . if we destroy the Spirit of Earth's home. . ." 

**The End**


	11. Destroyed Amber

**Destroyed Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

Aura, Azure, Adam, and Billy were gathered outside the Robinsons' house, helping Azure load her bags into the family car. To be more precise, Mr. Robinson, Aura, and Billy were loading the car, while Azure and Adam stood hand in hand, staring almost mindlessly into each other's eyes. 

"I'm only going for a little while," Azure tried to reassure her boyfriend. Adam sighed and glanced over to the car; she'd be going soon. 

"I don't like you being gone at all, not with Eric running around loose." 

Azure smiled. "Billy made sure that I'd be able to contact you guys if there was _any_ kind of emergency. I understand these things have a good range on them," she gestured towards his communicator, then to the matching one on her own wrist. Adam nodded. 

"And if you see anything that even _resembles_ Eric, I want to know about it at once," Adam insisted. 

Azure chuckled. "You worry too much; I'm going to be just fine." 

Adam kissed her on the cheek. "I'm supposed to worry, I'm the overprotective boyfriend, remember?" 

A honk from the car horn interrupted their farewell. "I know. But you're being just a little too overprotective," Azure smiled to take the sting out of what she'd said, then headed for the car. 

"Good-bye!" Adam called out. "I'm going to miss you! Have a good time!" 

Aura smiled. "She's only going to our grandparents, not to another country!" she reminded her friend as Azure waved good-bye. Adam nodded. 

"I know, but this is the first time we've been apart for more than a couple of hours." 

The Amber Ranger sighed. "How do you think Billy and I felt, when we were apart for seven years?" 

Adam turned to face Aura; she'd been behind him. "I wouldn't be able to handle that!" 

Aura couldn't help but laugh. "She'll be gone for three days, Adam, I think you can manage that," Adam turned away from her, but she heard plainly what he said next. 

"Even with Eric on the loose?" 

"Adam," Aura laid a hand on his shoulder. "She'll call if anything happens. We don't have to worry about Azure." 

The Black Ranger sighed deeply. "I know. But I can't help myself." * * * 

Rita was grumbling already; though it wasn't even noon yet. "This is so annoying," she hated having to associate with Eric; she hated the more-or-less singlemindedness that had come over Zedd since Aura's return; and most of all she hated. . ."HEY!" she screamed. Eric jumped away from her RepulsaScope as she marched over. "What are you doing with that?" 

Eric glared at her. "What do you think?" 

"That's mine!" she reminded him. "You don't touch it, understand?" 

"Why did you marry this windbag, father?" Eric glanced at Zedd, who was ignoring the goings on in the throne room. He mused to himself, somehow we will destroy that pesky Amber Ranger!" 

He looked up when he heard his son speak; Eric could always get his attention. He was such a delightfully wicked child, the true son of his father. Oh, he and Rita were fighting again. "I love her," Zedd reminded Eric. "And I gave that to her, so don't bother with it!" 

The Emperor of Evil glanced down towards the Earth again. Something he'd heard of, back on Kalakan. . ."The Amber Ranger's power is supplied from the Heart of the Earth, if we destroyed that, we destroy her powers"! 

Rita laughed; so what if Zedd was focused on the Amber Ranger? Once she was destroyed, the others would all fall! "Excellent! But surely she won't stand by and let us destroy it?" 

Zedd's evil chuckle sounded. "Then we occupy her time!" 

"What did you have in mind, my evil husband?" 

Zedd glanced down towards Earth, to where the Rangers were relaxing. He saw something next to Aura, and it fit in nicely with the plan in his dark mind. "I think Aura's beverage can would help out nicely! Arise, Peppertron!" * * * 

Aura sighed lightly; making sure neither Adam nor Billy noticed it. Adam missed Azure too much to be bothered, and she didn't really want to attract Billy's attention that much. In the three days since the little escapade with her being split into her good and evil halves, she'd actively avoided talking with Billy over a certain subject. 

_I still can't believe it happened. I'm going to be eighteen in less than a month, and Billy's birthday is a month after that. But already we. . .well. . .I know very well what we did; both halves of me felt it. The really weird part is. . .I'm not sure if I'm sorry or not. I wish it hadn't happened quite like that. . .but . . .oh, well, 'buts' never solved anything. And at least I've been able to avoid talking to Billy over it. I want to get things straight in my own mind before talking to him._

Aura glanced over at Adam. He looked a little distant, and was staring in the direction Azure had left in. "Adam, she'll be back soon." 

"I know," Adam sighed. Aura groaned to herself; convincing Adam to act like a normal person during the next three days wasn't going to be easy. 

She glanced up at the sky; she couldn't avoid talking to Billy forever, and wasn't even going to try. But she would avoid certain subjects. There were, however, some things safe to speak of. "You know," she began. "It's on a beautiful day like today when I can't believe this world's under constant siege by space aliens." 

Billy chuckled. "And one space alien, and six Earth-humans are fighting them. It's days like this when I hope those _other_ space aliens stay in bed!" 

Aura winced slightly._ I know he didn't mean it like that; but I wish he'd thought a bit more carefully. What am I thinking, this is Billy, he thinks everything out. He probably did that on purpose, just to get my attention. Like there's ever a moment I don't think of him. Well, when I don't want to talk about something, I won't. "So do I. I don't want today ruined."_

At that moment, that precise moment, the can of Dr.Pepper she'd been toying with quite literally leaped out of her hand and began to grow. The three Rangers stared in shock as it expanded to seven feet tall and acquired claws, fangs, a forked tongue, and a major attitude. 

"Too late!" it hissed at them. Mere harsh words weren't it's only weapon, though, as a strange sticky substance was sprayed all over them. Aura screamed as whatever it was burned into her skin. 

"What in the world? What is this stuff?" she backed away, nausteated and in pain. 

"This is disgusting!" Adam spat out as he tried to wipe the strange liquid off his skin. Aura trembled, for a moment she felt as she had before the Spirit of Earth had accepted her oath, as if she had no powers. . .she shook the feeling away. 

"Come on, guys, let's morph and kick this thing straight into the recycling bin!!" she called to her friends. Billy nodded. 

"It's morphin' time! Blue Ranger Power!" 

"Black Ranger Power!" 

"Amber Ranger Power!" 

The three young people exchanged startled glances as instead of morphing, they simply stood there. "It didn't work!" Adam observed. 

"This isn't good!" Aura glared at Peppertron, which was advancing on them. "What did that thing do to us?" 

"Let's get the others here, and get us back to the Command Center!" Billy decided quickly. He brought his communicator up this lips. "Guys, we're in a little trouble here, we're being attacked and we can't morph!" 

"A _little_ trouble?" Aura spared a half-mocking glance at her boyfriend as she launched a swift series of kicks at Peppetron. 

"You sure know how to understate something!" Adam agreed as the other Rangers, already morphed teleported in. Tommy ordered the other three straight to the Command Center, and not even Aura stayed to argue with him. * * * 

"Ay-yi-yi-yi, what's wrong?" Alpha was already pulling out his scanner as the three Rangers teleported in. "Sit down and let me run this scan on you," he told them as Billy filled the robot and Zordon in on what had happened. Aura leaned against a console, muttering insults against Rita, Zedd, Eric, Peppertron, and everything else that crossed her mind. 

"That's not going to help us, Aura," Adam told her, managing to suppress a chuckle as he was scanned. He'd never gotten over the tickling feeling he got when being examined by Alpha. 

"Maybe not," she shrugged, "but at least I feel better about it." _And at least this. . .whatever it is. . .is one more thing to keep Billy's mind off that 'talk'. I just hope we can figure out how to reverse the effects of that spray._

"I'm all sticky!" Adam complained as Billy started to help out Alpha as the results came in. Aura nodded. 

"I need a serious shower; then I'm going to find that monster and do _heavy_ damage to it." 

As Alpha fed the last of the data into the computer, he glanced over at the viewing globe, then to them. "You can go home to shower; it looks like Peppertron's retreated for now." 

Aura nodded. "If I see that monster, though, I'm tearing it apart, morphing or no morphing!" 

Adam got to his feet, and suddenly grabbed the console as a wave of weakness swept over him. "Woah. . .that doesn't bode well!" 

Aura tried to stand next, but quickly sat back down. "Ohhh. . .this doesn't feel good at all." 

RANGERS, PLEASE SIT DOWN. Zordon advised. ALPHA, PLEASE HURRY THE RESULTS OF THE TESTS. 

Aura took Billy's hand in her trembling own. "What have they done to us now?" she wondered. 

"I wish I knew," Billy mused as he sat next to her, putting a caring arm around her. The other Rangers teleported in just then, and Tommy's first thought was for them. 

"You guys OK?" the White Ranger asked. 

Aura shook her head; they could all see the fear plain in her eyes. "I don't think so.," 

Aisha glanced at the three non-morphcapable Rangers. "Zordon, Alpha, what's going on?" 

Alpha read off the test results. "It appears that Peppertron has depleted some of their energy and its spray prevents them from morphing." 

Aura clenched her fists tightly. "I'm going to tear that thing to pieces!" 

"You're not the only one," Adam promised. As far as he was concerned, the only good thing about this whole thing was that Azure wasn't here. 

"How can we fix this?" Aura wondered. "Is there a cure or way to reverse it or whatever?" 

Alpha took a look at Billy. "It will take time to come up with one, but I am sure that we can." 

At that, Billy got carefully to his feet and headed over to the console. "I'll do what I can." 

ADAM, AURA, YOU MAY WISH TO GET SOME REST. WE WILL CONTACT YOU WHEN WE FIND OUT ANYTHING. 

Aura nodded, steadying herself against a console. "Let's go. If you want to, Adam, I'll meet you at the Youth Center later for some sparring. I feel the need to hit something very hard." 

A brief flicker of worry crossed his face. "Just be careful. Azure may want to hurt you if you hurt me too much!" he chuckled a little. 

"Oh, I won't hurt you," Aura laughed a little herself. "Too much!" 

Aura took a deep breath, getting ready to teleport out. Just as her finger touched the teleport button on her communicator, her entire body flashed with a raw pain. She cried out, her muscles spasming with pain. 

"Aura?" Billy ran over to her, eyes wide with shock. "Aura, what happened?" 

"I hurt. . .for a second. . .all over," she whispered. She straightened up as the pain eased off. Alpha materalized a cot as Billy led her over to it. 

"Come on, you're staying here," he insisted. Aura didn't exactly feel like arguing with him, either. * * * 

Goldar and Rito teleported down to the Heart of Earth, and were already hard at work destroying it's peaceful beauty. Goldar laughed as he knocked down several trees. "Her precious Heart of Earth will soon be destroyed!" 

Rito agreed as he pulled several trees up by their roots. Goldar destroyed an entire row of flowerbeds. "Stupid weeds!" he roared as he blasted them into dust with a bolt from his sword. He stomped on a few more, then stopped suddenly as a voice came to his ears. 

"Goldar. Rito," the voice was calm and peaceful, but held an edge to it. 

"Ummm. . .," Rito looked at Goldar. "Did you hear that?" 

"Who said that?" Goldar wondered. The voice came again. 

"I am the Spirit of the Earth. Leave this place, _now_!" 

"Not until I destroy this garden!" Goldar roared, exploding several rows of waving trees. In front of them appeared an apparently young, human female, incredibly beautiful by the usual standards. With a voice that echoed from end to end of the Heart, she thundered, "_Get out!"_

Rito stared. "Um, maybe we should?" 

Goldar was having none of this, however. "Pathetic!" he growled as he blew up even more of the beauty around them. 

The Spirit of Earth frowned, then exapanded to over fifty feet tall. There was a look of rage on her face that would have terrified anyone with or without sense. _"I said get out!"_

Rito and Goldar left the Heart so fast it was rather amusing to see them go. The Spirit chuckled to herself; one never messed with Mother Nature without paying the price. * * * 

Rita screeched the moment Rito and Goldar showed up at the Lunar Palace. "Why did you stop?" 

"You bumbling buffons!" Zedd glowed red with rage as he glared at his brother-in-law and chief servant. 

"Hey, it wasn't our fault!" Rito protested. "That place is haunted!" 

"He speaks the truth!" Goldar agreed, something he'd never thought he'd do with Rito! 

Rita laughed. "Haunted? You've got to be kidding!" 

Goldar shook his head. "This voice, at first it had no body, but when it got one. . .she turned fifty feet tall!" 

Rito nodded so much Rita was almost afraid his head will fall off. "It was scary!" he asserted. 

Rita exchanged a long glance with Zedd. "I'd say they were lying, but they're too stupid." 

Zedd growled, "That blasted spector will not get in our way again!" 

"Maybe a few dozen monsters will do better than just these two idiots," his wife suggested. Zedd bellowed for Finster at once. 

"Yes, your wickedness?" the apron-wearing monster-maker appeared. "What can I do for you?" 

"I need some of your most _evil_ monsters to attack the Heart of Earth!" Zedd ordered. "And I want them at once!" 

"Right away, your evilness!" Finster bowed and raced back to his lab; he already knew which ones to choose. * * * 

Aura sat up, brushing Billy away carefully. "I'll be fine, Billy," she smiled at him. "It was probably just something from Peppertron's attack." 

Billy glanced at Alpha, who only shrugged. "I hope so," he sighed. Adam came over. 

"Anything we can do for you?" he asked quietly. Aura nodded. 

"Yeah, let me go home so I can get a shower and some clean clothes!" 

Billy agreed with her. "I think we'd all better do that!" As the three of them teleported to their respective houses, Alpha filled the remaining Rangers in more fully on Peppertron and what he'd done to them. As he finished his recitation, Kat sighed. 

"I hope Billy can find a cure." 

Tommy nodded. "Same here. Let's just hope it's before Azure comes home; she could be in real danger if those three can't protect her from Eric." 

Aisha nodded. "Is it just me, or have things gotten more personal with Rita and Zedd since Aura and Azure showed up?" 

"It's not just you," Rocky sighed. They'd all realized that over the past few months. 

"I think Zedd sort of takes Aura's existence personally; he thought he'd killed off the last of her line fifty thousand years ago," Kat glanced at the Viewing Globe long enough to make sure their three friends were safe. 

"What about finding out about his kid? That was gross in itself!" Aisha shivered; remembering the horror she'd felt when learning Zedd and Eric were related. Both were hideous enough on their own, but together. . .it boggled the mind. 

"Rangers!" the Spirit of Earth appeared a moment later in the Command Center, startling them all. 

WELCOME, SPIRIT! Zordon greeted the essence of life on Earth. WHAT BRINGS YOU HERE? 

"I bring word of great danger to the Amber Ranger," the Spirit told them. 

"What is it?" Tommy asked, instantly on the alert. Aura was his friend and teammate, if she was in danger, he wanted to know about it. 

"The minions of evil have attacked the Heart of the Earth, where Aura swore her oath to the Earth as the Amber Ranger, and where I healed her not long ago from the death-spell. Any damage done to the Heart will be felt by Aura, and if the damage continues, Aura could die." 

Tommy nodded as he understood. "So that's what Aura's pain was from." 

WE WILL WARN HER AND DO OUR BEST TO STOP THEM FROM ATTACKING AGAIN. Zordon promised. The Spirit nodded. 

"She will feel any damage done to the Heart, and the closer she is to it, the worse it will hur ther. I frightened Goldar and Rito away, but I believe they will try again." 

"If they do," Tommy told the Spirit, "we'll make sure they learn not to do it again!" Just as he said that, the alarms started to blare again. "Another attack!" 

"Where this time?" Rocky asked, leaping to his feet. Alpha turned worried robotic eyes on them all. 

"The Heart of Earth. . .and downtown Angel Grove." 

"We can't defend both; it's going to take all of us to stop Peppertron!" Aisha groaned. "What are we going to do?" * * * 

Aura and Adam threw various kicks, punches, and blocks at each other as they sparred in the Youth Center. Both of them were worried over the effective loss of their powers. "I'm glad this happened with Azure gone; she'd be worrying over us if she were here." 

Adam nodded. "I Know, but it would serve us right!" 

His girlfriend's sister smiled. "We worry over her constantly." 

"I know, but can you blame us?" 

Aura shook her head. "Not a. . .," she stopped, doubling over in pain suddenly. She bit off a vile oath as Adam came over to her, making sure no one noticed her pain. 

"Aura?" he asked gently. "I'm getting you back to the Command Center." 

"Man, this hurts," Aura winced as Adam helped her to their usual corner. A moment later, they were in the Command Center. 

"Guys, I don't think this has anything to do with the Peppertron," Adam glanced around to the others; only to see they weren't there. "Where are they?" 

PEPPERTRON ATTACKED AGAIN; THEY WENT TO CONTAIN IT. AURA, WE KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING TO YOU. 

"What is it?" Aura looked up as the pain eased again. It had been much more intense this time; and had lasted longer. 

ZEDD IS ATTACKING THE HEART OF EARTH. 

Aura trembled as Zordon told her what was going on; something inside of her whispered,_ Go there. . .go there. . .you are needed. . ._ "Why would that hurt me?" she asked. She didn't have to, though, she knew. 

IT APPEARS THAT YOU ARE CONNECTED TO THAT PLACE. 

"Great," Aura muttered._ Just my luck they decide to attack their with Peppertron on the loose. That's probably their plan; get the others distracted with it, attack the Heart and kill me._ "I'm feeling better now, though." 

"Is there something we can do to prevent these attacks?" Adam asked, looking up at Zordon. Aura took a deep breath. 

"I'm going to the Heart." 

Billy threw a startled glance at her. "What? I don't think so!" 

Adam placed a quick hand on Billy's shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm going with her." 

Aura almost glared at Billy. "I'm going with or without Adam; the Heart is a part of me if I'm connected to it, and I don't let any part of me get attacked!" 

"Okay," Billy knew perfectly well Aura would go with or without his permission. "Take care of her," he advised Adam. The Black Ranger nodded. 

"I will. Azure would never forgive me if I didn't!" * * * 

"Oh, this is wonderful!" Eric laughed evilly as he watched the Rangers through the Repulsascope. Zedd looked over at him. 

"What is it?" 

"Hey, dad, Aura was hurting herself when we attacked the Heart again!" 

"What?" Zedd ran over to his son. "How is that possible?" 

Eric, despite being perverted and evil, wasn't an idiot. "She must be connected to the Heart; you told me she gets her powers from having sworn an oath there. The more we hurt it, the more _she_ hurts!" 

"Finster!" Zedd roared. "We need more monsters to attack the Heart!" 

"Of course, your nastiness!" Finster bowed and once more headed to his lab. Another half-dozen monsters were on the way to the Heart of Earth in moments. As he left, he heard Eric's laughter behind him. 

"This is going to be fun!" * * * 

"Man, this place got trashed!" Adam stared around at what had once been the most beautiful and peaceful place in the world. He looked at Aura, who was leaning against one of the few trees still standing. 

"Oh. . .this. . .it hurts to look at it," she gasped. Adam came over to her, worry in his voice. 

"You going to be okay?" he could see several monsters ahead, and recognized some of them as ones he and the others had fought in the past. 

Aura looked up and saw the monsters. Her eyes grew cold and distant as she did so. "I have to be ok, Adam. This place needs to be protected." 

She pulled away from the tree and from Adam, running at the monsters at top speed. Unmorphed, effectively unarmed, but madder than anyone had ever seen her, Aura defended the place that was a part of her. Adam joined her in the fight, using every martial arts manuver he'd ever seen, heard, or thought of. 

"Get out of this place, monsters!" Aura screamed as she plowed into five different ones at the same time. A hideously familiar voice stopped her in her tracks. 

"You're not really sporting, are you?" Eric stared at her, Zedd's staff held casually in one hand. 

"You!" Aura whirled on him, eyes flashing with anger. "What would you know of sporting? Twenty monsters against two Rangers!" 

Eric pointed the staff at her. "Actually, it's twenty against one Black Ranger! I want you all to myself in this battle!" 

Aura wiped the sweat from her brow and leaped towards him, her hands already balled into fists. "My pleasure!" 

Eric and Aura were more or less equally matched as they fought. She was too close to him for him to use the staff's magical powers, but Zedd's son also knew how to use it as a normal weapon. He managed to throw her back a few feet and pointed it at her. 

"Time to die! And soon your sister will be mine forever!" 

"Never!" Aura jumped at him, ignoring the pain racking her body. Every step these creatures of evil took in the Heart sizzled in her heart, soul, and body. Eric laughed, and blasted a huge oak tree behind her with a beam from the staff. 

Aura buckled over in agony, it felt as if every cell in her body was exploding. "Eric. . .I'm going to kill you for that alone!" 

"I'd like to see you try!" Eric laughed evilly as Aura managed to attack him again. 

"No matter what it takes, with or without powers, this place is a part of me, and I will _not_ let you destroy it!" 

Aura fell back, and glanced around. Adam wasn't doing very well against the monsters; he was surrounded. Eric blasted her and the Heart equally with rays from the staff, causing double damage to her whenever he hit something in the Heart. 

Aura fell down, no longer able to stand. Her heart raced with agony, she couldn't even see anymore it hurt so much. Words came into her mind._ Spirit of Earth, help me. . .Adam needs me. . .the Heart needs me. . . you need me. . . _

"This is too easy!" She heard Eric's voice and footsteps coming near her. He kicked her in the ribs as he gloated. "Not only do I destroy the fabled Aura Robnsion, the Amber Ranger, but Azure's precious boyfriend as well!" 

"Never," Aura mumbled, somehow managing to make it to her feet. "Never. . ." she tried to make one last attack, but fell far short. Eric laughed. 

"No way for you to win, Aura! I've won!" 

_I am here, Aura. Reach out your hand to me, and we will be one._ She heard the Spirit's voice in her mind, and moved her hand a little. 

"For my friend," she whispered. "For this place that is my home. . .and my Heart." 

She felt a touch on her hand, one she instinctively knew wasn't Eric or Adam or a monster. Then all single thoughts ended. 

"What in the world?!" Adam stared as a blue mist enveloped Aura suddenly. Eric fell back in surprise, and Aura stood up. 

Or was it Aura? It looked like her, but her eyes blazed with a fire that could only be described as the light of life itself. She bore an enormous sense of presence. 

"We are joined!" the voice echoed from everywhere and nowhere at once. The combined Aura and Spirit glared at Eric, who stared back. "Leave this place!" She commanded. 

"What's happened to you?" Eric asked, trembling at the furious gaze of this new creature. 

"We are one. We are the Guardian of the Earth, and you are not welcome in this place! Leave here freely, and never return, before you are destroyed!" 

In under a minute, the Heart was empty of everyone except Adam and the Guardian. Adam stared at his friend. "What happened, how did you do that?" 

"As Aura, I am the Ranger of the Earth, it's sworn defender," the Guardian explained. "And as the Spirit I am it's soul. When we join, we become the Guardian of the Earth. And now, for the Heart, to be healed!" 

The entire Heart sparkled with strange light for a moment. When it faded, Adam found himself in the most beautiful of gardens, that made all normal regions of loveliness seem like garbage dumps. "This place is awesome!" he breathed. 

"And now, to seperate," the Guardian sighed. A moment later, the Spirit emerged from Aura's body and stood beside her. Aura took a deep breath. "That was a major rush!" 

"I can bet!" Adam could only stare at the both of them. Aura had been healed of all the injuries and wounds she'd suffered during the battle, and practically glowed with health. 

"It is time for you to return to the Command Center," the Spirit told them. "Your friends need you." 

"Thank you, Spirit," Aura hugged her, a broad smile lighting the Amber Ranger's face. "We'll do what we can." 

"I believe the one called Billy has come up with an antidote for your condition as well," the Spirit smiled as Adam and Aura high-fived each other. 

"All right!" Aura laughed with joy. "Let's go!" 

She and Adam were back in the Command Center in moments. "Billy?" Aura asked as they materalized. "You've got an antidote?" 

Billy turned to them, holding up a vial of blue liquid. "Right here!" 

"Then let's go," Aura smiled. "The Heart is safe now." 

Adam raised an eyebrow as he looked at Billy. "You're not going to use a needle are you?" 

"Does it matter?" Aura asked. Adam chuckled and admitted that it didn't. Billy handed small containers of it to both of them. 

"Actually, you're going to drink it!" 

Aura smiled. "Cool, let's do it!" As they drank, both noticed Billy wasn't sharing the antidote. "Aren't you coming?" Aura asked. 

"Someone had to test it out!" Billy told her. "Morphin' time?" 

Aura and Adam exchanged glances as they both felt the effects of Peppertron's spray fading. "It's morphin' time!" 

"Black Ranger Power!" 

"Blue Ranger Power!" 

"Amber Ranger Power!" * * * 

The Rangers weren't having an easy time with Peppertron; they were all glad his spray had no effect on them once they were morphed. Three flashes of light signaled the arrival of the other Rangers, though. 

"Looks like the calvary finally got here!" 

Aura laughed as she, Adam, and Billy ran into the battle. "We would've come faster, but we had Heart problems to solve!" 

The Rangers exchanged groans and sighs as the reunited team launched into the final battle against Peppertron. * * * 

Zedd slammed his fist down on the balcony as the Rangers defeated his monster once more. "I can't believe they did that!" 

"I didn't even know she could do that!" Eric ranted in his own turn, watching as the Rangers demorphed and returned to the Command Center after the fight. "She became part of the Spirit!" 

"And that pesky Black Ranger, always in the way!" Zedd complained. Rita sighed. 

"This is too annoying!" _I don't know which is worse, the Rangers or Eric!_

"If only there were some way to destroy Aura and all the other Rangers!" Zedd threw himself back into his throne and sulked. 

"And of getting Azure, willingly," Eric muttered to himself as he stood by his father's throne. 

Rita shrugged. "Aura and the Blue Ranger are close; if we had him as a prisoner, she'd die if we told her to!" 

Zedd looked at Eric. "You're thinking about her again? Aren't you?" 

"And why shouldn't I?" Eric almost snapped. He thought about Azure almost as much as he breathed. Zedd looked back to Rita. 

"If we capture both the Black and Blue Rangers, we could, metaphorically speaking, kill two birds with one stone!" 

_Maybe if Eric gets that brat, he'll move out! _"Yes, but how?" Rita wondered. 

"Easy!" Zedd laughed; why hadn't he thought of this before? "When they are alone, right before they go to bed, we kidnap them!" 

"Wonderful!" Rita chuckled. "We wait til that brat comes home; then we _take_ them!" * * * 

Azure slipped into her bed. She loved being at her Grandparents house. The smell of the bread they cooked earlier that day still ran through the house. She couldn't wait to give the loaf to Aura. Looking at the picture of Adam that she brought with her, she smiled and kissed it goodnight, falling into a restless slumber. 

_She walked next to her sister. It was like nothing had happened. _

_Aura glanced over and smiled. "It's such a beautiful day." _

_"I know. Nothing can ruin it." _

_Azure jumped as Eric appeared in the park in front of them. In his hand, he held two chains. "I'm insulted! I can ruin any of your days!" _

_Azure screamed, trying to get away, as her sister grabbed her. "Where do you think you're going?" _

_Azure looked at her sister, the one who just betrayed her. "What? NO! Please, let me go!" _

_"With pleasure," she snarled, throwing Azure into Eric's waiting arms. _

_"Thanks Aura!" He flashed a depraved smile to the eldest girl as he vanished with Azure. They reappeared moments later, in Eric's Dungeon styled room. Azure felt the cold metal of the cuffs go tightly around her wrists and ankles, pulling her to a sitting position against the wall. "This is going to be so much fun! You are going to love me, be mine. You have no choice!" Azure felt a sudden chill on her skin, looking down she saw that her shirt was ripped open. The tears rolled down her face as she tried her best to get away from him. His hands, both roaming and hitting her, pushed her into a lying position. "You know what comes next, don't you, my dearest Azure?" _

_"No.don't.please." Azure kept trying to sit up and force him away from her, but was unsuccessful. _

_"I've waited for this too long **not** to!" _

_She screamed as he. *** _

_Azure regained consciousness sometime later, feeling the warmth of the sun beating down on her back. Looking up, she saw Adam looking down at her worringly. _

_"Adam, help me." She needed him, his understanding nature, his shoulder to cry on, his ear to listen to her. _

_Adam started to help her up. "What happened?" _

_"Eric.he.he.raped me." She was literally trembling so badly in his arms, but was soon found back on the ground. _

_"He WHAT?" _

_"He raped me. Adam.help me." The look in his eyes was something she could only describe as disgust. "Adam?" _

_"How could you let him touch you?" _

_"What? I.I.he.chained me up." _

_"That's **NO** excuse! You should've called for help, not just **let** him do.it!" _

_"I.I.Adam, believe me, I didn't want him to do this." She managed to choke out between sobs. _

_"I think you did!" _

_"How could you.say that? I didn't! I was terrified." _

_Adam didn't even look into her eyes. He could hardly stand the sight of her. "I just bet you were. You probably loved everything he did to you! We're through Azure. Go back to Eric, he wants you, I don't!" He turned and walked away, leaving her trembling and crying in the middle of the park. _

_"I love you Adam!" She watched as walked, not even stopping. "ADAM!"_

"NO!" Azure bolted upright in the bed, screaming at the top of her lungs. Moments later her Grandmother walked into the room. 

"Azure? Honey, what's wrong?" She carefully sat next to the trembling teen. She knew that none of what happened since Eric moved to Angel Grove was going to be easy for Azure to deal with. 

"I'm fine." 

"Azure, you're shaking." 

Azure looked away from her and straight into the eyes in Adam's picture. Picking up the frame, she threw it against the wall. 

"Azure? Why did you just do that?" 

Azure glanced back to her and hugged her, crying herself to sleep. Her Grandmother tucked her into the bed, and went and cleaned up the broken glass._ Sleep without nightmares this weekend, dear child._ * * * 

The weekend had almost literally dragged by for Adam, but finally it was Sunday afternoon and Azure would be home in minutes. He bounced up and down as he waited with the others for her arrival. 

The Robinson car pulled up and Azure was out of it in a moment. She looked at him for a second, then raced over to him. _It was just a dream, I know Adam, he'd never treat me like that! I love him, and he loves me, and nothing Zedd, Rita, Eric, or any stupid nightmares do can stop us from being together!_

"Adam, I've missed you!" she caught him in a huge hug and was rewarded with a wonderful loving kiss. 

"I missed you, too," he told her. She looked around at the gathered Rangers. 

"So, what did I miss?" she asked. Aura couldn't help herself; she laughed. 

"Oh, not much," she told her younger sister. "Adam, Billy, and I couldn't morph for a few hours, I nearly died because Rita, Zedd, and Eric were attacking the Heart of Earth, and I merged with the Spirit of Earth to scare the living daylights out of them all." 

Azure raised an eyebrow. "Why was I not informed earlier?" she asked, a grin pulling at the corners of her mouth. Adam grinned at her as they hugged and kissed again. 

"We didn't want to worry you," he smiled. 

"Good reason!" Azure looked around at the friendly faces surrounding her; this was the way things should always be. She refused to let any shadows of her dream taint her happiness now or ever. "Anything else I should know about?" 

"No, that was about it, I think," Aura smiled as they headed indoors. "Hopefully they'll give us time to give you a proper homecoming party!" 

"Party?" Azure smiled as they heard music coming from within the house. "Oh, you guys shouldn't have!" 

The Robinsons and the Rangers didn't notice the dark and evil eyes watching them from behind a tree. Eric smiled evilly and thought to himself._ Enjoy yourself while you can, Azure. Tonight. . .I take your boyfriend. . .and tomorrow. . .you belong to me. Forever._

**The End**


	12. Captured Amber

**Captured Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

Aura turned off her lights and slid the window open softly. It was almost time. She remembered precisely when this nightly vigil had begun, the same night she'd come home from Kalakan. Across the short gap between her house and Billy's, the light came on in his room. She took a deep breath as he removed his shirt, revealing a chest that would have been the envy of every male she knew and the object of desire for every female in the cosmos. _Oh, good. . .he's doing his exercises._   
  
Aura could hardly breathe as Billy exercised in front of the window. Before too long, sweat streaked his chest and arms, glistening in the pale mixed light of the moon and lamp beside his bed. _Oh, good Lord. . .he's perfect. . .if I wasn't already in love. . .I'd be in love_!   
  
She never knew how long she sat there, watching the play of light and skin over his muscles. She was startled out of her near-trance when the phone beside her rang.   
  
"Enjoying the view?" Billy's voice asked quietly. He was rather pleased to see her blushing; he'd been a bit surprised to see her at the window. When she didn't reply, he asked, "Well? You know, we still need to have that little chat."   
  
She stammered, "Yeah, I am. . .enjoying it."   
  
"Glad you did," Billy chuckled. _And we're going to have that talk soon, my dear Aura._ "I'm turning off my lights now. See you tomorrow?"   
  
"Not if I see you first," Aura managed to grin. "I watch you in the mornings too."   
  
"I'll get up very early!" he told her, knowing Aura was not quite the earliest riser in the world. She giggled.   
  
"Sleep well, Billy," she whispered into the phone, "I love you."   
  
"I love you, too," he hung the phone up and watched until Aura left the window. He smiled. _We do need to talk_. He pulled on the blue tee shirt he slept in and turned back to his bed. _Tomorrow_.   
  
All thoughts of Aura were banished the next moment when Tengas appeared out of nowhere and grabbed him. Surprised, Billy struggled, only to have a Tenga press something over his mouth and nose. Darkness enveloped him a moment later.   
  
* * *   
  
Adam smiled at the picture of himself and Azure. "You are beautiful," he told the picture. He envied Billy for living right next to the Robinson's; he could see Aura just by looking out of his bedroom window. Adam, on the other hand, had to settle for a flat photograph. He glanced up as a strange noise sounded from inside the closet.   
  
"What the heck is that?" he muttered. He was surprised to see Eric stepping out! "What are you doing here?"   
  
"Hello, Black Ranger," Eric sneered. Adam reached for his communicator, only to find himself in the sudden grip of Tengas. Eric laughed and placed a cloth with a sickly-sweet scent to it over Adam's face. The last thing Adam saw was his enemy's laughing face.   
  
* * *   
  
Adam opened his eyes and looked around. "Oh? Where am I?" he saw Billy hanging from a pair of chains next to him, and nudged him a little. "Wake up!"   
  
Billy's eyes fluttered, then he too was awake. "You okay?" Adam asked. Billy looked around him.   
  
"Not if we're where I think we are," was the Blue Ranger's assessment.   
  
"We are," Adam growled. "Eric kidnapped us!"   
  
"This isn't good," Billy groaned. "I wonder if the others know yet."   
  
Adam asserted, "They will soon. I was supposed to meet Azure for breakfast."   
  
Billy went a trifle pale. "Aura will too. She. . .ummm. . . well, she watches me."   
  
Adam raised an eyebrow. "She does?" Before Billy could answer, the door to the cell they were in opened and Eric entered.   
  
"I see you're both awake," he smiled nastily. It was evident that he was enjoying their captivity. "I bet you are wondering why you were brought here."   
  
"Yes, we are," Billy said flatly. Both he and Adam had a good idea of why, though.   
  
"Two people," Eric gloated. "And I bet you can guess who they are, you're so bright, Blue Ranger!"   
  
"Aura and Azure," Billy snarled. "You little. . ."   
  
Eric interrupted Billy's tirade. "It's not only me who wants them. My father wants Aura, I want Azure."   
  
"You'll never get either of them!" Adam lashed out. "They won't fall for your tricks!"   
  
"I think I can," Eric's grin was very reminiscent of Zedd's. "Once Azure sees your life is in danger, she'll have no choice. Same thing for Aura."   
  
"You'll never get away with this!" Adam promised vengeance with every syllable of his threat.   
  
"I agree," Billy nodded. He appeared outwardly confidant, but he knew Aura very well. _She'll do it, oh, God, she'll do it, she'll think she has to. And they'll kill her_.   
  
"I think I will!" Eric laughed. Adam roared in outrage.   
  
"_No way!_" Only the fact they were chained up and behind a forcefield prevented the Black Ranger from leaping out to attack Zedd's vile son. Instead, he resorted to screaming and yelling with all his might.   
  
"Oh, shut up!" Eric left them alone to await whatever would happen.   
  
* * *   
  
Azure sat in the front porch swing, watching for Adam. The door behind her opened, and she turned to see Aura coming out. "Hey, Azure," her sister greeted her.   
  
"Did Adam call?"   
  
Aura shook her head. "No, what's wrong, was he supposed to?"   
  
Azure nodded. "We were supposed to have breakfast together. He's an hour late, and I can't get a hold of him!"   
  
Her sister frowned. "That's not like him."   
  
"I know," Azure nodded again. I'm getting worried." _If anything's happened to him_. . .   
  
"Hello, ladies!" Eric appeared in front of them. Aura reacted automatically, reaching for the Morpher in her jeans pocket with one hand and placing the other protectively on Azure's shoulder.   
  
"Eric, get out of her," she growled. He laughed.   
  
"Now, now, I come bearing important news," he held up a large crystal ball which levitated towards them. "Recognize the two people in that?"   
  
Aura glanced inside, and the blood drained from her face as she saw Billy and Adam chained up. She recognized the place; it was Zedd and Rita's dungeon. She lunged towards Eric, her hands reaching for his throat. Zedd's staff appeared in his hands and he blocked her, pushing her back towards Azure.   
  
"Surrender to me and Lord Zedd, or they perish. You have four hours to decide!"   
  
"Never!" Aura hissed. Azure was staring at the crystal, then she got up and ran inside, crying. Aura kicked at Eric. "I'm going to kill you one of these days!"   
  
"I seriously doubt it!" Eric laughed and disappeared. Aura spat where he'd stood, then grabbed the still-hovering crystal and ran up to find Azure. Her sister was sitting on her bed, clutching a picture of Adam.   
  
"Why is he doing this?" Azure asked as Aura came in. "Why?" Aura sat next to her on the bed.   
  
"He's a jerk. We'll stop him and get Billy and Adam back."   
  
"How?" Azure stared at her. "It's not going to be as easy as it was to get me out of there!" She was almost screaming by now. Aura stroked her hair gently.   
  
"Shhh, calm down."   
  
"I can't," Azure shivered. "You see what he does to me. I wish I could."   
  
Aura put a careful arm around her to comfort her. "You've got to. Come on, we've got to tell the others," Azure nodded in responce. Aura hit her communicator. A moment later, Tommy's voice came over the wrist device.   
  
"This is Tommy, go ahead."   
  
"Tommy, this is Aura. Eric's kidnapped Adam and Billy. He wants me and Azure to surrender in four hours, or he'll kill them."   
  
Tommy snapped off a few choice insults. "Meet us at the Command Center. I'll contact the others."   
  
"See you there," Aura turned off the communicator and looked at Azure. "We'll get them back, Azure."   
  
"Yeah," Azure sighed and dragged herself to her feet. "Let's go."   
  
They teleported to the Command Center to find the others already there. Aura started pacing at once, her usual reaction when nervous or upset. "This is not good, not good at all."   
  
"What happened exactly?" Tommy asked.   
  
"As near as I can figure, they grabbed them both either last night or this morning."   
  
"And now we've got less than four hours to save them," Azure stared into the crystal Aura had handed to her just after their arrival.   
  
The Amber Ranger sighed. "We both know what happens if we surrender. I die, and you're with Eric."   
  
Azure shuddered; the nightmare she'd had over the weekend returned in full force. "I know."   
  
Aura paced some more, the activity charging her thoughts. "Could. . .could we fool them somehow?"   
  
"How?" Aisha wondered.   
  
"I can distract Eric and the others, while everyone else sneaks in to get Billy and Adam," Aura explained her plan.   
  
"It's too risky," Tommy considered. "But it may just work."   
  
Aura threw a glance at her sister. "Azure, before you say anything, you're not going."   
  
Azure glared back at Aura. "He said he wants both of us! You honestly think he's going to let just you surrender?"   
  
Aura sighed and shook her head. "No, not really. But I don't like you going in there, not near him."   
  
"I'll be fine!" Azure insisted. If he tries anything, I'll just use that move you taught me!"   
  
Aura returned the wicked grin that spread across her sister's face. "All right, do we wait the four hours or just go?"   
  
Azure shuddered as she thought of being that close to Eric again. "Let's get this over with."   
  
Aura nodded. "Come on," she stopped and turned to Tommy, holding her hand out. In it was her morpher. "Hold this for me till I get back. I don't want to risk them doing anything to it."   
  
He nodded. "Good idea. But. . .this means you'll be defenseless."   
  
Aura's lips curved into a thin smile. "I think I can handle myself up there." _At least I hope I can_.   
  
"You'd better be right," he said as he took it. "We'll be there soon for you guys: for all of you."   
  
* * *   
  
The two girls stood under a tree in the park, both nervous as a pair of cats. "What now?" Azure asked.   
  
"I guess we wait for Eric," Aura shifted from one foot to the other. She hadn't been without her morpher since the regaining of her powers, and she was far more unsure of her non-morphed fighting skills than she'd let on in the Command Center.   
  
"Not very long, I take it," Azure gripped Aura's arm as Eric appeared in a flash of light.   
  
"I guess not," Aura took a deep breath as Eric approached them. He leered at Azure, then turned to Aura.   
  
"I see you have decided?"   
  
"No, we're here for the flowers and scenery," Aura said dryly. He glared at her and held his hand out.   
  
"Morpher. Hand it over."   
  
Aura chuckled. "Don't have it. I left it with Tommy. You might have me, but you are not getting my powers!"   
  
"Fine!" Eric gestured and Tengas appeared with long chains and shackles. "Come on, then, I'll let you see them one last time. But first, you're putting these on."   
  
"What for?" Aura asked. "We're not going to struggle."   
  
Eric shrugged. "It's not my idea, Aura. It's my dad. You know, rules and regulations type thing, you take the good guys prisoner, you have to chain them up."   
  
"Like you even object to chaining either of us," Aura snapped. Eric chuckled as he looked at Azure.   
  
"Not a bit," Azure shivered at his look, feeling a bit better when Aura put herself in between the two of them. "Make this easy on all of us. just put them on."   
  
Aura glanced carefully at Azure, who picked up the shackles the Tengas threw in front of them. There was a glint of fear in her eyes as she did so. Aura bent over and picked up a pair of the chains, slipping the shackles onto her own wrists. She put an arm around Azure, shivering at the sound of the chains. "Everything's going to be all right."   
  
"It had better be," Azure sighed. Aura cautiously tested the strength of the chains, and was dismayed to find out she'd probably not be able to break these things even morphed. She glanced at Eric.   
  
"Let's go."   
  
Eric held out of his hand and the Z staff appeared in it. With a dramatic flourish, he teleported them all to the moon. They were right in front of Billy and Adam. "You guys ok?" Aura asked quickly.   
  
"What are you two doing here?" Adam wanted to know, looking at Azure. Eric put a hand on Azure's arm.   
  
"They're my guests," he purred evilly. Aura jerked his hand away from Azure and glared at him as Azure ran to Adam, begging his forgiveness.   
  
"When I'm dead, maybe you can touch her then, jerk!" Aura snapped.   
  
Adam wanted to hold Azure, but his chains held him to the wall. "Azure, you get out of here!"   
  
"I can't!" Azure shook her head as she managed to hug him. He wanted to know at once why not. "I promised."   
  
Adam shook his head. "I can't let you stay here, not with him!"   
  
"This is getting us nowhere!" Eric snapped suddenly. He grabbed the chain that led to Azure's shackles and started to drag her out of the room as Tengas fastened Aura's chains to the wall next to Billy. "It's time!"   
  
"Adam!" Azure shrieked as he took her away. His calling out of her name was the last thing she heard as Eric took her away to what she feared would the living of her nightmare.   
  
"Remind me to kill him when I have the chance," Aura muttered. Adam almost glared at her.   
  
"How did this happen? How could you let her agree to this?"   
  
"I didn't want her to come!" Aura snapped back. "I wanted to come alone!"   
  
"You wanted?" Billy couldn't believe his ears, but at the same time could. He knew better than any how independent Aura was, and how determined to keep him from harm, no matter the cost to herself.   
  
"A distraction. The others should be coming in soon, to get us all out of here!"   
  
"Azure wanted to come on this mission?" Billy really didn't believe that. Aura shrugged.   
  
"She didn't think they'd believe it if I was the only one who showed up."   
  
Just then, the door swung open and Rita and Zedd entered the prison. "Oh, great, the comedy relief is here," Aura wisecracked.   
  
"I wouldn't make jokes, Amber Ranger," Zedd hissed. "Your time is very short. I suggest you make what's left of your good-byes, while you still have the time. You die within the hour!"   
  
"I'd rather make jokes than be one like you two!"   
  
"We'll see whose laughing in an hour!" Rita promised as she turned and left. Zedd turned to follow her, then stopped to look once more at the three captives.   
  
"Enjoy what little time you have left together!" he laughed, then left them to stare at each other. Aura concealed the fright she felt well as she looked towards the door Eric had taken Azure away through.   
  
"I've got to get out of here and help Azure," she thought out loud. Adam shook his head.   
  
"Good luck. Even if we had our morphers, we probably couldn't break through these chains. Um, just how is Tommy going to know when to come for us?"   
  
"I told him not to wait too long after Azure and I got up here. They were supposed to be watching on the viewing globe."   
  
* * *   
  
Eric locked the door to his chambers and turned to Azure, a cold smile crossing his face. "Finally, after so many years, we're alone. Together."   
  
Azure backed away from him. "I only came because of Adam; I won't do anything for or with you!"   
  
Eric grinned even more broadly and wickedly. "Wanna bet?"   
  
Azure glanced at the door; she wanted nothing more than to make a run for it at that moment. "I've learned a lot since we've last seen each other."   
  
"Good," Eric told her. "It'll make our time together that much more fun. We'll have such a wonderful life together. . .forever."   
  
"PIG!" Azure screamed as she kicked him and ran for the door, only to have him suddenly standing in front of it. "What do you want from me?" she snapped.   
  
"Guess," he grinned evilly at her. Azure remembered what their last encounter had been like, and went completely white.   
  
"No, please, anything about that," she didn't know if she were whispering or begging.   
  
"And why not?" Eric laughed. "I think it would be a perfect way to celebrate our reunion."   
  
He wasn't laughing a moment later as Azure knocked him in the stomach and ran for the door again. This time, he dragged her back to him by the chains still attached to her wrists. Azure fell to the floor in a ball, crying as the memory of her nightmare washed over her.   
  
* * *   
  
Tommy stared into the viewing globe as they finally managed to get a visual into the Lunar Palace. "I don't like this. Where's Azure?" he glanced at the others. "It's time, we've got to go get them."   
  
"Let's go," Aisha said firmly. "They need our help more than we thought they would."   
  
Tommy nodded. "It's morphin' time!"   
  
* * *   
  
"I can't believe she wanted to do this!" Adam ranted. Aura sighed.   
  
"She's always been stubborn, and she only did it because she loves you, Adam," she looked at Billy. "The same reason I came."   
  
Adam looked down at the floor, feeling shame for being mad at Azure for coming. Billy nodded as he met Aura's gaze. "I know."   
  
Aura sighed. "Hope the others get here soon."   
  
"Me, too," Adam didn't want to admit how worried he was. The cell door opened again, and this time, Goldar entered the cell.   
  
"Hello, Rangers!" he greeted them with an evil smile on what passed for his lips. "Time to die, Amber Ranger!"   
  
"Don't you ever get tired of saying that to me?" Aura asked as he unhooked her chains from the wall and began to drag her out.   
  
"I'll be back, Billy, Adam," Aura smiled at Billy. He nodded as he called out, "I love you!"   
  
"And I love you!" was the last thing she was able to say before Goldar slammed the door behind them both and resumed pulling her away to her fate.   
  
* * *   
  
As the sound of the slamming door faded away, Billy took a long look at Adam. He finally let the worry he was feeling show. "The others have to get here soon; I don't want to think over where Azure might be, and I know Aura can't fight against Goldar alone, unmorphed, for long."   
  
Adam was about to reply when the door came open again: this time flying off the hinges and into the room. "Sorry it took so long!" Tommy said as he and the others entered. "Where's Aura?"   
  
"Goldar showed up a few minutes ago and took her somewhere, probably the arena," Billy told them. Rocky pulled his blaster out and blew their chains away. Tommy came over and handed both of them the morphers they'd left behind at their respective houses. In the next moment, the Black and Blue Rangers stood there.   
  
"Let's split up!" Tommy suggested. "Adam, Kat, and I will go to find Azure, Billy, you, Rocky, and Aisha go find Aura."   
  
It only took the three Rangers a few moments to rush to the arena. Rocky glanced around and saw. . .emptiness. "Man!"   
  
Billy swallowed. "This isn't good. I thought for sure they'd be here!"   
  
"Maybe they took her somewhere else?" Aisha suggested. "Does Goldar have a personal training place or something like that?"   
  
"I don't know," Billy told her. "But let's find out, and fast!"   
  
_* * *_   
  
Azure was still curled up in a ball as Eric forced a kiss from her. "It's not so bad, Azure. You'll forget about Adam."   
  
"I won't," Azure insisted. Eric laughed.   
  
"Oh, believe me, you will. But first let me get those chains off you. We can't have our fun if you're all tied up!"   
  
Eric gestured and her chains were suddenly fastened to the wall. Azure nearly went into convulsions as the dream she'd had while at her grandparents returned fourfold. "NO! Please, no!"   
  
"Yes!" Eric laughed in triumph. He reached out for her, just as the door flew open, with the White and Black Rangers behind it side by side.   
  
"I'm getting good at this!" Tommy laughed. "No way you're going to do that, Eric!"   
  
"Didn't you hear her? She said no!" Adam said as he punched Eric in the jaw. The other young man flew across the room, too surprised by the sudden attack to fight back.   
  
"Rangers!" he spat out the word through a bloodied lip. "We were having a private moment!"   
  
"Not with my girlfriend you don't!" Adam promised. Eric screamed for Tengas, which appeared in a full flock to fight the Rangers. Adam pushed one aside to see Azure being dragged out of a small door by Eric. "Azure!"   
  
In the hallway, Eric was surprised as Azure stopped suddenly and grabbed him. "I don't think so, Eric!" she growled, throwing him against the wall and kicking him hard in an area he prized greatly.   
  
"You've got to stop doing that!" he squeaked. Azure backed away from him and ran down the hall, crying.   
  
"Just leave me alone!" was all she said as she vanished from his sight. The next person she saw was Adam, who held her gently as he crashed into her.   
  
"Azure!" he said gently. Azure stared, stepping back from him, her eyes wide with sudden fright. "Azure, did he hurt you?"   
  
She leaned against the wall, shaking and trembling so much he was afraid she would almost literally fall apart. "Azure?" Adam went over to her. "Come on, we're going home, once we find Aura."   
  
Tommy and Kat joined them. "She okay?" Tommy wanted to know. Adam looked at him, worry in his eyes.   
  
"I don't know."   
  
Kat came over to her. "Let me try. Azure, can you hear me?" They were rewarded when Azure looked at her and nodded slightly. "We're taking you home."   
  
Adam glanced down the hallway where Azure had come running. "I think it'll be a race between me and Aura to get our hands on Eric now."   
  
* * *   
  
"Ready, Kalakan?" Goldar and Aura stared at each other across training ground. He'd removed her chains, actually having the nerve to call it a 'fair fight'.   
  
"To kick your tin-plated behind? Sure!" Aura snapped. Goldar laughed and charged her. "You never have won against me, Goldar!" Aura knew perfectly well that was a lie, and Goldar challenged her on it.   
  
"Who is kidding themselves now?"   
  
"You do remember that I have beaten you before," Aura reminded him. "Without my powers as I recall! And when I united with the Spirit of Earth, I sent you, Eric, and your whole monster crew screaming in fear!"   
  
Goldar almost slashed through her defense as he told her, "Ah, but if you win here, Billy will most certainly _die!_"   
  
Aura shook her head. "You're going to try and kill him anyway. I've been evil, Goldar, I know how you scum think."   
  
"So, if I win, he dies quickly," Goldar's sword connected hard with her head. "You win, it's slow!"   
  
Aura staggered and slipped to one knee, her head swimming with pain. "You. . .would do it slow anyway. . . "   
  
Goldar laughed. "There are times when I do keep my word!" He raised his sword high, preparing for the final blow. "At last, the end of the Amber Ranger!"   
  
There was a strange sound from behind him. Goldar turned to see Billy, Rocky, and Aisha standing there. "Excuse me, which way to the tennis court?" Billy asked as his fist made extremely violent contact with Goldar's chin. The armored warrior fell backwards as Aura couldn't help but laugh at the startled expression on his face.   
  
"Hi, Billy," she smiled at him. "Hi, guys, what kept you?"   
  
Rocky said dryly, "You didn't leave a forwarding address."   
  
"Sorry, didn't have the time," seriousness replaced her joking mode in a heartbeat. "Has anyone seen Azure or Eric?" Aura cracked her knuckles warningly. "I've got some unfinished business with him."   
  
Billy shook his head. "No, Adam, Tommy, and Kat went after them."   
  
"Glad you guys found me. And I hope we can find Azure, soon," Aura glanced towards Goldar, who was throwing Aisha and Rocky away from him. With one powerful kick, she knocked him halfway across the arena.   
  
"Another time, Rangers!" Goldar squeaked as he vanished. Aura grinned lightly.   
  
"Let's go. And if we run across Eric, he's mine!"   
  
* * *   
  
"You can do it, Azure, come on, please!" Kat tried to urge Azure into standing, into talking, into coming out of the shell she'd wrapped around her mind. As she did so, the others joined them.   
  
"Azure?" Aura ran over to her sister. "What's wrong?"   
  
"I'll give you a lucky guess what that slimeball tried to do to her!" Adam snarled. Aura's eyes blazed with fury; and she slammed a fist into the wall next to her: a full foot into the wall.   
  
"That's what I'm going to do to him," she snarled. "I swore if he ever touched her again, I'd do it. And I always keep my promises!"   
  
"That's not going to help her right now!" Kat reminded her. Aura nodded and turned to Azure.   
  
"Azure. . .come on, little sis, time to go home," she spoke soothingly, hoping her voice would reach to her. She looked up at the others. "Let's go! What's everyone waiting for, a personal engraved invitation?   
  
"Aura?" it was Azure, looking up at her sister with hope and life slowly starting to fill her eyes again. "Oh, Aura!" Azure threw herself at the older girl, and Aura wrapped her arms around her.   
  
"I'll never let him bother you again," Aura whispered as she rocked back and forth. "Never again. No matter what it takes."   
  
The Rangers looked at each other as Aura's eyes filled with unshed tears. Adam almost stepped forward, but Aura shook her head. "We'll be at our house," she said. Holding Azure close to her, the Amber Ranger teleported out of the palace.   
  
Adam looked at the others. "Let's go," was all he said.   
  
* * *   
  
Aura sat next to Azure in the younger girl's room, mixed rage and grief warring within her. Azure had been asleep for hours, and Aura hadn't left her alone for a moment. She didn't dare to; she didn't want to risk Eric invading the house. Azure stirred suddenly, and opened her eyes. They were filled with such fear and self-contempt it was scary.   
  
"Azure," Aura said softly. She wanted nothing more at that moment than to have Eric there so she could strangle him.   
  
"No," Azure whispered. Aura was quick to reassure her.   
  
"He's not here, Azure, and he'll never come here."   
  
"What did he. . .did Adam. ..?" Azure sat up, tears slowly beginning to drop.   
  
"Adam's fine," Aura told her. Azure shook her head fiercely.   
  
"He saw what he tried to do!" Aura turned stern, but loving. She had to get through to her sister, but didn't want to scare her.   
  
"Tried. Not succeeded. _Tried_. He failed again," Aura reminded her.   
  
"He almost didn't!" Azure cried. "Aura, I can't face Adam, I can't!"   
  
"Adam loves you, and you love him," Aura reached out to gently stroke Azure's tangled hair. "Don't let Eric tear you apart." Azure pulled away from her and buried her face in the pillows.   
  
"I can't. . ."   
  
"You can't let Eric win, and he'll try something else, you know that," Aura hated saying it, but she had to keep Azure's mind on reality, no matter how harsh it was. "Your love and Adam's is what keeps him from winning."   
  
Azure looked up at her and swallowed, fighting down the rest of her tears. "I need time."   
  
"And Adam will give you that time," Aura smiled. "And I'm here to make sure Eric does too," she cracked her knuckles, the sound reminded her of breaking bones. Eric Matthews was the only person she'd ever wanted to kill in her life. "And to keep a promise I made two years ago," she whispered. Azure heard her, though.   
  
"I kicked him hard," Azure whispered. Aura smiled, but didn't say the next words that came to her mind. _I'm going to do a lot more than kick him, dear sister. A LOT more_.   
  
* * *   
  
Aura headed home from school; it had been two days since they'd all gotten back from the palace, and there had been no sign of Eric. Azure had caught a ride home with their parents that day; Aura had wanted some time to herself, to enjoy the rare feeling of solitude and to keep an eye out for any signs of trouble: or Eric.   
  
_Such a beautiful day. I wish I was with Billy; even if he does try to have that 'talk' with me again. I've managed to put him off every time, but I won't be able to do it forever_. Aura's thoughts were interrupted as she saw Eric standing near the lake. _Oh, my. Such luck_.   
  
As quietly as she was capable, and that was quietly indeed, she slipped up behind him. Something must have warned him she was there, though, for he turned around: just in time to catch her punch on the jaw knocking him into the lake.   
  
"You little. . ..," Eric's command of profanity had obviously increased by his association with Zedd. Aura chuckled as he splashed his way back to shore.   
  
"What are you waiting for?" she snarled. "I've got a two-year-old promise to keep!"   
  
"You've got a good memory. All right. Shall we?" he swung at her, but she dodged out of the way, and responded with a kick to his chest.   
  
"Oh, come on, can't you do better than that?" she mocked him. He came to his feet and rammed into her, knocking her into a tree.   
  
"Football taught me something!" he reminded her how he'd played on their school team when they were all back in New York.   
  
"Like how to lose!" Aura rammed a fist into his guts as she ran closer to him, but he was more or less ready for that: pushing her into the lake.   
  
"What goes around, comes around!" he taunted her. Aura got out of the lake, glaring with years' worth of hate in her eyes.   
  
"You're going to die," she promised him. "But you were going to anyway!"   
  
"I don't think so, Ranger!" Goldar appeared. Aura couldn't believe her eyes; wouldn't she ever have a moment to herself with this jerk?   
  
"What, you can't leave me alone for ten minutes to carry out a simple promise?" she snarled. _Actually, if I did this the way it should be, it would take about ten years!_ She leaped at Eric smoothly, fastening her hands around his throat.   
  
"Hey!" a flash of black light signaled the appearance of Adam. "Save some for me!"   
  
"Sorry," Aura snarled, red rage filling her mind. "I've been waiting for this for two years!" Eric was turning blue and struggling for air, while Adam held off Goldar. The Black Ranger had no real intentions on stopping Aura; for the first time in his life, he'd found someone he truly believed the world would be better off without.   
  
"Aura! Stop!" it was the Spirit of Earth, appearing next to Aura and looking as they had never seen her before: angry at Aura.   
  
"No!" Aura snarled, sanity a small thing in her eyes at the moment. "This thing doesn't deserve to live!"   
  
The Spirit steeled herself; this would be harsh for her to say. "Aura, if you care to hold onto your powers, I suggest you stop!"   
  
Aura stared back and forth from the Spirit to Eric. . then dropped him to the ground. "Be gone, vile creatures!"   
  
Goldar and Eric vanished in the next moment, banished back to the moon. Aura stared at the Spirit. "Why did you stop me?" she asked.   
  
"Do you think that killing him is going to help Azure?" the Spirit asked. As she spoke the words, the veil of rage that had clouded Aura's vision since she'd seen Eric dragging Azure away lifted.   
  
"It might. . .I don't know," Aura whispered.   
  
"Would it help you. . .or your sister?" the Spirit came closer and put her hands on Aura's shoulders.   
  
"Me," Aura admitted. _I was trying to make myself feel better, not Azure. How could I have been so blind?_   
  
"I thought so," the Spirit turned to Adam as Aura sank to the ground, tears filling and spilling over. "And why do you wish pain on Eric?"   
  
"Because of what he did to Azure."   
  
"Has being a Ranger not taught you that revenge is not the way to go?" the Spirit reminded him. Adam nodded softly.   
  
"She's hurting so much. I thought it would help her," he admitted. He also knew he hadn't thought much about it. The Spirit gestured, and a cloud appeared before them, that showed Azure sitting in her window, tears falling down her cheeks.   
  
"Does it appear that it would?"   
  
"I have to help her!" Aura insisted, the need to help filling her soul.   
  
"How can we?" Adam wondered, reaching out towards the image of his girlfriend. He hated seeing her cry.   
  
"Talk to her. Reassure her that everything is okay. From there it is up to her to solve this."   
  
Aura made her way to her feet and went to the Spirit. "I'm sorry, Spirit. What I tried to do was wrong." Adam agreed; if Aura hadn't beaten him to it, he would have been the one strangling Eric.   
  
"There are times when mistakes are made to teach us what the truth is," the Spirit touched Aura's forehead gently and lovingly. "You are the true Ranger of the Earth, Aura, and I love you. Remember that."   
  
A moment later, Aura and Adam stood alone by the lake. Aura smiled faintly. "She's almost like a mother to me."   
  
Adam nodded. "Let's go see if Azure wants some company," he had the sudden and irresistible urge to hold Azure in his arms for all time, to protect her from anything and everyone that might hurt her. Aura nodded.   
  
"Maybe I should be a sister. . and not a murderer," she murmured to herself as they headed on towards the Robinson's house. _I swear to you, Azure, Eric will never hurt you again. I won't let him. . .but I won't kill him. I won't let him push me over the edge like that again. I'll make you proud of me, little sister. I love you_. 

**The End**


	13. Sibling Amber

**Sibling Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

Azure sighed as she got ready for bed. It had been a month since her time on the moon, and it was nothing but nightmare after nightmare. Awake or asleep, she couldn't get away from it. Tonight, she hoped, would be a night without the nightmares. She looked at Adam's picture and was fast asleep. 

_Azure walked hand in hand with Adam. Enjoying the sunshine. Nothing could have been more perfect. Adam pulled her over to a big tree and kissed her. Something was wrong though. It wasn't the kind of kiss they usually had. There was something else in it. She couldn't quite place it. Adam slide down the tree and coaxed her with him, then he did something totally unexpected. He hit her, with his fist, in her stomach. _

_"Adam?" She said trying her best to regain her breath. "Why did you do that for?" _

_"Do what?" He smiled a truly mischievous smile. Grabbing her hands, he noticed her trying to escape. "Where do you think your going?" _

_"Away from you! Let me GO!" _

_"Never," he said as his knee made contact with her stomach. _

_"Good job, my friend." The voice sounded eerily familiar to Azure, looking up only proved her fears. _

_"Eric. What did you do to Adam?" _

_"Nothing, he's like me. You seem to attract us. It's your destiny, Azure." _

_Adam forcefully twisted Azure's arm behind her, while forcing her face towards the ground. His laugh was as evil as Eric, if not more. "ADAM! STOP IT!" She felt his fist punch her in the back._

"NOOOO!" Azure's eyes sprang open, as she knocked the picture of Adam onto the bed. Her scream was loud enough to wake the entire neighborhood. Seconds later she was surrounded by her parents and her sister Aura. 

"Azure?" Aura reached for her sister's hand, but Azure pulled away. 

"Honey, what's wrong?" Her mother came a little closer, but stopped herself before she crowded her youngest one. Azure shook, not only her head, but her whole body shook. 

"Another nightmare?" Aura had seen plenty of these to know the signs of them. Azure just nodded her head. She had, so far, managed to avoid talking to people, especially Adam. 

"About Eric?" Her mother could tell already that it was who she dreamt of. 

"Sorta." 

Aura moved a little closer to her sister, trying to hold her hand once more. "Want to talk about it?" 

Azure looked at her sister's hand, then at her sister. She shook off the hand and backed away. "No." She could see the hurt in Aura's eyes as she did that. 

"Azure?" 

Azure turned her face away from her sister's hurt look, and her eyes crosses the picture of Adam. She was so upset at the dream that she picked up the picture and threw into the garbage can next to her bed. 

"Azure? What kind of dream was it? Other then a nightmare." 

Azure laid back down. _That picture can stay there.so can my dreams of a normal life!_ "Worse then reality," was her response. The tears flowed down her cheek as her body still shook. 

"Whatever it was, it was only a dream. Remember that!" Aura removed Adam's picture from the garbage can, and held it. _I know she didn't mean to throw it away. Unless that's who she dreamt about._

"I know." Azure wiped the tears away from her eyes. 

"Get some rest, please." 

"I'll try." Aura and their parents left the room, but Aura left hers and her sister's doors open. As she laid down, she thought. _Another night of little sleep, but worth it, to help her through this crisis._

The next morning, Aura, Azure, Adam, and Billy were all sitting on the Robinsons' front porch. Azure hadn't spoken all morning, and hadn't even looked once at Adam. He looked a little hurt, but Aura had told him she'd had a nightmare of some sort. 

"You know," Aura gazed up into the flawless blue sky over them. "Mother's Day is the day after tomorrow." 

"Yeah, that's right," Adam nodded. He glanced every now and then to Azure, who still looked out of it. _Will she ever be the same again? God, I hope so._

Aura was still looking up into the sky. "I wonder where my mother is. Shaya," Shaya had left shortly after Aura and Adam had rescued her and the Robinsons from Zedd's palace, promising to return to visit. 

"Who knows?" Billy shrugged. Aura sighed as she stretched, keeping an eye on Azure. Sudden movements made her sister jumpy these days, and today was one of the worst days she'd had in a while. 

"I wish she'd come by. I miss her," Aura couldn't explain the deep-set connection between herself and Shaya; it went beyond love, and came near to touching the emotions she held for Billy and Azure. 

"Maybe she'll surprise you," Adam suggested. He slipped a little closer to Azure and tried to put an arm around her, hoping she wouldn't react like she had the last few days. He was disappointed when she pulled away, however, a frightened and hurt look in her eyes. 

Aura noticed this, and sighed a little. _I've got to help her. I wish I could do something. . .wait. . .maybe I can._ "Azure, would. . .would you like to visit a special place with me? Somewhere I've only been three times, and that you'd love?" 

Azure nodded listlessly. Aura took a deep breath. "When would you like to go?" When Azure didn't answer, her sister framed it another way. "Would you like to go today?" Azure nodded this time. Aura took another deep breath. "Would you like to go now?" Another nod, and this time, 

"Yes," Azure whispered. Adam smiled as she spoke, and Aura got to her feet. The elder girl held out her hand, smiling. As Aura and Azure stood hand in hand, Aura glanced at the others. 

"We'll both see you later," Aura told them. A moment of concentration, and she and Azure both stood in the Heart of Earth. _The only place I can teleport to without a communicator._

The beauty of the Heart struck straight into Azure's heart. She loooked around, amazed at what she saw. Aura told her, "This is my home. Well. . .one of my homes. It seems that I have a few. Welcome." 

"Where. . .are we?" Azure wondered. Aura smiled a little; Azure rarely spoke anymore. 

"This is the Heart of Earth," Aura told her. Azure breathed in the deep beauty of the Heart; she could quite literally feel the pulse of life here. She knelt to the moist Earth, touching a violet gently. She glanced up as Aura spoke again. "The Heart is a part me, Azure. We're a part of each other, actually." 

"As I am a part of you," the Spirit shimmered into being a few feet away. Aura smiled in welcome. 

"Hello! Azure, this is the Spirit of the Earth," Aura introduced her sister to the being that was in her mother in many ways. Azure stared wide-eyed at the Spirit. 

"Hello, Azure," the Spirit touched her gently, and for once Azure didn't flinch away from the contact. 

"You're so beautiful," she whispered. Aura smiled and came over closer to them. 

"The Spirit is the soul of the Earth, like I'm it's defender," she explained. She glanced around. " I brought Azure here because I thought she could use the peace of this place." 

"I know," the Spirit told her. "She is welcome here." 

"Do you like the Heart, Azure?" Aura asked gently. She had a feeling she already knew the answer, though. She was rewarded when Azure nodded. 

"Yes." 

"I can bring you here whenever you like," Aura promised. _I'd move you in here if that's what it takes for you to heal from your nightmares._

* * * 

Adam and Billy got up just as Aura and Azure vanished. "I hope Azure likes the Heart." 

"So do I," Billy nodded. "What's it like there?" Adam sighed in memory of what it had looked like once the Guardian had healed it. 

"It's . . .words can't dscribe the beauty of that place." 

Just as they were about to leave, three glimmers of light appeared, transforming into Shaya and two others, one older man, and a little boy who looked to be around ten years old or so. "Greetings, Adam, Billy," Shaya smiled. 

"Shaya?" Adam stared at her and her companions. Billy was a bit more direct, though. 

"Who are they?" he asked. Shaya gestured towards the older man. "This is my husband, David, and this," she indicated the boy, "my son, Samuel. They're the reason I left last time; I had to go get them. I wanted Aura to meet them; where is she?" 

"The Heart of the Earth with Azure," Shaya nodded as Adam told her the news. 

"Will they return soon?" she wondered. Billy nodded as he went up to the Robinsons' door and knocked. Jessica Robinson answered, and smiled to see Shaya there. 

"Welcome back!" she smiled and gestured for them all to come in. As they did so, Shaya asked quietly, "I had heard that in a day or two is a human holiday called "Mother's Day"?" 

Frank Robinson came into the room, holding some of Azure's school books. He nodded. "Yes, it looks like you're the one giving Aura the present, though. She's missed you." 

"As I have her," Shaya told them. "But David and Samuel needed me. We returned as soon as we could." 

Jessica nodded. "I don't know where Aura is, but I'm sure she'll be back soon." 

They settled down into the living room and began to catch up on the past few months in Angel Grove and in interstellar space. 

* * * 

"She's back!?" Zedd glared evilly down at the Earth. Seeing Aura's mother really infuriated the evil overlord. She was the one who had saved Aura from Kalakan's destruction, who had given birth to the infuriating Amber Ranger in the first place! 

"Can't we ever get rid of anyone!?" Rita raged. Zedd shook his head, eyes flashing with foul red light. 

"Apparently not!" Zedd noticied something then. "What's this? She has a child? Another one?" 

Rita ran to her RepulsaScope and stared at the Robinson house. "A boy! How disgusting! Wasn't one brat enough for her?" 

"Silence, Rita! This could work to our advantage!" 

Rita turned to her husband. "What do you have in mind?" Zedd would have rolled his eyes if he could. 

"Using that boy against the Amber Ranger!" he proclaimed. Rita frowned; she actually looked better like that, he noticed absently. 

"He's still a child!" 

"Not if I have my way about it!" Zedd crossed over to a cabinet in the wall and pulled out a glittering bottle. "This should age him!" 

Rita grinned wickedly. "And as a special side effect: he becomes our slave!" 

"This is perfect!" Zedd gloated. "RITO!" 

The skeleton shuffled up. "Yeah, Ed?" Zedd groaned at the misnaming, then gave his brother-in-law his orders. 

"Wait for the perfect moment, then inject this into that boy! Bring him here after that!" 

"You got it, Ed!" 

* * * 

As Aura and Azure arrived back at the Robinson house, the older girl asked, "Did you have a good time at the Heart?" 

"Yes," Azure nodded, still no expression on her face or in her eyes. Aura smiled. 

"I'm glad. Let me know whenever you want to go back. I think the Spirit likes you too," Aura told her. She was about to open the door when it suddenly was pulled open from the other side. 

"Hello, girls," their mom said. Aura glanced behind her, and her eyes widened. 

"Mother!" she ran over to Shaya and caught her in a huge hug. "Oh, mother!" 

"Hello, Aura!" Shaya smiled. 

"It's been too long!" Aura smiled. "Far too long!" 

"That it has," Shaya agreed. "There are two people I want you to meet," she glanced behind Aura to see Azure standing there, shrinking away from everyone there. "Hello, Azure!" 

Azure nodded a little, and waved. Aura frowned lightly. "Two people?" 

Shaya nodded. "My second husband and our son: your half-brother." 

Aura's frown transformed into a magnificent grin. "Really?" Shaya nodded, and gestured them closer to her. "This is your stepfather Dad, and your half-brother Samuel." 

Aura ran to hug them both. "Hi! It's good to meet you all!" 

As Aura was welcoming her new family, Azure quietly sat in a large chair, away from all the others. She hated being around people; but had an idea if she tried to leave, Aura or one of the others would hunt her down. 

Samuel tugged at Aura's shirt lightly. "Who's that?" he asked, gesturing to Azure. 

"That's my sister, Azure," Aura told him. She already loved this guy. 

"Is she my sister too?" he wanted to know. Aura couldn't help but smile. 

"Yeah, she's your sister," Maybe this would be what Azure needed to snap her back to reality. It certainly couldn't hurt. 

"Okay!" Sam ran over to Azure and wrapped her suddenly in a large hug. Azure shrank away from him, startled by the sudden contact. Aura was quick to try and comfort her. 

"He won't hurt you, Azure," she said gently. Azure glanced at her, then at the hurt look in the little boy's eyes. She nodded gently, and Sam rushed to hug her again. This time, Azure returned the embrace. Aura smiled a little. 

"How long are you guys going to be here?" Aura wondered. 

"We're not sure," Shaya told her. "But we are staying for Mother's Day!" 

Aura laughed; this was truly the best gift possible. A strange sound filled the room, that caused all of them to turn towards Azure. "Azure?" Adam was in disbelief at what he was hearing. Aura was literally staring. 

"Azure. . .you're giggling?" 

Azure looked up, and a smile curved her lips. "I guess I was! Sam was tickling me!" 

"You're all right! Or. . . at least better!" Aura laughed, glad to see her sister smiling again. Azure looked at her. 

"I have a long way to go to being all right," she told them all. "and little Samuel just set me on the right path!" 

Aura crossed over to the chair and gave Samuel a large hug. "Thanks, Sam," she told him. Sam glanced up at her. "What did I do?" he wondered. 

"Everything right," Aura told him. Adam nodded. "And for that, I'm going to buy you a smoothie! How'd you like that?" 

Aura shook her head, smiling. "I'm going to buy him _two!_" 

Billy chuckled. "Come on, let's get this kid some smoothies," Aura looked around the room as people began to stand up. "Who else is coming?" she asked. 

"You guys go," Azure said, not getting up. "I'm gonna stay." 

Aura gave her sister a long, measuring glance. Finally, she said, "Azure, you remember a few months ago when I was so scared I couldn't leave my room?" 

Azure nodded. "Yes." 

"How did you get me out of the house?" 

Azure's eyes widened. "You wouldn't." 

"Try me," Aura's voice was totally factual. She loved Azure, and wanted what was best for her, but this was getting just a trifle on her nerves. 

"Aura, this is different from what you went through!" Azure tried to protest. Aura shook her head. 

"Doesn't matter. You still need to get out!" 

Azure glanced from her parents to Aura. "I'm going to lose this one, right?" 

Aura nodded, a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Haven't you learned, the Amber Ranger always wins?" 

Azure sighed and headed up the stairs. "Let me get my jacket." As she vanished upstairs, Adam glanced at Aura. 

"I hope we're not pushing her too far too soon." 

Aura sighed. "I don't know. But she's got to get out. She'll never be all right if she just stays around here." 

Shaya glanced at them, a frown forming. "What is wrong with Azure?" Aura quickly gave her a summary of what had been happening the past few months with Azure, Eric, the nightmares, and everything else that had went on since Shaya had left Earth. Once the recitation was ended, Shaya's eyes were filled with worry and concern. "That is why she backed away from Samuel. I pray she will be all right." 

Aura nodded. "We all do." 

Azure came back down then, and glanced around. "Ready?" Aura nodded. 

"Let's go." 

* * * 

"Aren't you glad you came out today?" Adam asked Azure as they strolled through the park. Azure sighed, thinking no to herself. 

"Nothing's going to attack us, Azure," Aura tried to soothe her. Azure glanced at her. 

"Why don't I believe that?" 

Aura sighed. "Azure," Azure bit her lip and looked into the distance. "I'm sorry," the younger girl whispered. Aura put a careful arm around her sister's shoulder. 

"It's ok. I won't let anyone or anything hurt you. I never have, have I?" Azure tensed a little as Aura spoke. 

"No," she admitted. Just as the word fell from her lips, Rito and a squadron of Tengas appeared. Azure pulled away from Azure, glaring at them. "NO!" she screamed. 

Aura growled, "I don't believe this!" 

Rito grinned nastily at them. "Awww. . . how cute! A family reunion!" he glared at Azure next. "My nephew isn't too happy with you!" 

Aura slammed a powerful fist into Rito's stomach. "Don't you even get _close_ to my family!" Rito pushed Aura away and headed over to Samuel. 

"Tengas, attack them!" he ordered as he did so. Aura went into her ninja-fighting mode at once, plowing into a batch of Tengas. "Azure, get Samuel and get out of here!" 

"Okay!" Azure arrived by Sam just as Rito did. The evil walking skeleton laughed as he and Azure stared at each other over the small tow-headed boy. 

"Oohh, two for the price of one!" Rito laughed, and bashed his sword against Azure's head. She collapsed into his arms, and as he tucked her under one foul-smelling arm, with the other he injected Sam quickly with the liquid Zedd had given him. 

"Rito!" Aura screamed as she ran towards him, fully morphing into the Amber Ranger, and with her Axe in her hands. The one thing that truly caused her to lose her temper was if someone threatened her family. 

"Sorry, gotta run!" Rito laughed, disappearing a moment later with both Sam and Azure in tow. 

"Azure! Sam!" Aura demorphed and dropped to her knees, tears streaming down her face. "No! No!! NO!!!!!!" 

Adam let loose with a stream of profanity that could have easily been coming out of the mouth of any of their enemies. Billy stopped both him and Aura's weeping. "Let's get to the Command Center." 

Aura nodded and got to her feet. _Before I kill something. He's just a little boy. And Azure. . .sweet flames of life, what are they going to do to her?_

* * * 

"For once, you actually did something right!" Zedd had never imagined he'd be compliementing Rito! But Rita's brother had indeed brought him not only the little brat Samuel, but that continous thorn in his side Azure! 

Rito laughed. "Of course I did something right!" Zedd grunted noncommitedly, sparing a glance for his newest fighter: Samuel, already magically grown to his full adult size, and with an evil twist to his features. Azure's stirring on the floor at his feet brought his attention back to her. The firt thing out of her mouth was a piercing scream. 

"And hello to you, too," Rita said dryly. Azure glared at them as she scrambled to her feet. 

"Where is Samuel?" 

Rita gestured towards the man in the corner. "Right there!" 

"What did you do to him?" Azure snarled, unable to believe her eyes. Surely this wasn't the same sweet little boy who had hugged her back into reality! 

"Made me what I should be," his voice was deeper, fuller, and foul-sounding. "A warrior for evil!" 

"No," Azure whispered, her eyes going wide with fright. 

Rita nodded. "Yes. . .and now. . . it's your turn!" 

Azure shook her head. "I won't serve you!" Rita laughed, and raised her staff. A beam of light shot from it to hit Azure on the forehead, holding her still for a few moments. When the beam released her, Azure blinked, and smiled evilly. 

"How may I serve you, masters?" 

"You and Samuel will go destroy the Rangers, especially the Amber one!" Rita ordered. "Make sure you get rid of her!" 

"Yes, Mistress," Azure and Sam chorused, teleporting away in that moment. 

* * * 

Adam paced ceaselessly back and forth in the Command Center, while Aura and Billy manipulated the machines searching for their two missing friends. 

"Adam, this isn't going to help anything!" Tommy tried to get the Black Ranger to calm down. Aura glanced over at them. 

"I'm getting very tired of my family getting mess with!" she snapped. Every bit of her energy was going into this search, and all of them pitied Rita and Zedd should Aura get her hands on them at this moment. 

Adam nodded. "I'm tired of it, too. Why can't they just leave Azure alone? Hasn't she been through enough?" he shivered for a moment. "I don't even _want_ to know what they did with Samuel." 

Aura's fists clenched almost automatically. "If they harm. . .if they so much as _frighten_ them, I'm going to see if I can talk the Spirit into merging with me again!" 

Adam put a comforting hand on Aura's shoulder. "Remember what she told us about revenge?" 

Aura nodded a bit sadly. "This is my family, though, Adam. And hers, in a sense, through me. I can ask, but I won't be overly upset if she says no. .. or yes." 

Silence reigned for a few minutes, til Tommy asked, "Any luck, Billy?" 

Just as he did so, alarms rang throughout the Command Center. "I'd say I did. Check out the viewing globe," everyone gathered around, and what they saw there made Aura sick to her stomach. 

"Is that Azure?" Adam wondered. Aura absolutely went white. 

"This cannot be happening!" she whispered. Azure and a strange man were tearing up Angel Grove Park; both wore outfits simliar to the one Aura had almost a year earlier when she had been under Rita and Zedd's control. Only Billy's scans proved at least Azure's identity. 

"Who is that guy?" Kat wondered. Aura glanced over at Billy. 

"Any ideas?" Billy was back at the computer in a minute, but shook his head. "Sorry. I can't get a clear reading on him." 

"We've got to go there," Aura sighed. "We've got to help them." 

"Then let's do it," Tommy nodded sharply. "It's morphin' time!!" 

In seven flashes of bright light, the morphed Rangers appeared in the park near to Azure and the stranger. "Azure! What do you think you're doing?" Aura cried the moment she was solid. 

Azure rolled her eyes, the only part of her visible under the hood. "What does it look like?" 

"Why?" Aura asked, then raised a hand. "No, don't tell me, let me guess. You're under a spell, right?" 

Azure laughed. "I'm actually doing this of my own accord!" 

"No way!" Aura shook her head. "I don't want to fight you, Azure, but I will if I have to!" 

Azure slid silently towards Azure, then stopped to look at her companion. "Ready, Samuel?" 

He nodded. "Ready. Let's tear them to shreds!" 

Aura stared in wide-eyed disbelief. "No! Samuel?" 

"Yes, it is!" Azure turned back to her sister, laughing coldly. Aura stood in shock, unable to believe her eyes. 

"What did they do to you two?" 

"That is for them to know, and you never to find out!" 

"Don't make me hurt you, Azure," Aura advised. "I never have before." 

"You are pathetic!" Azure flipped towards Aura, kicking her hard in the stomach. Aura fell back, then quickly grabbed Azure in a tight grip. 

"Let me go!" Azure struggled in her sister's grip. 

"Azure, you remember me, I'm Aura, your big sister, you and I have defended each other from the moment you were born, remember? I will not fight you now!" 

"You are a joke!" Azure broke her grip and ran towards Adam, knocking him hard into a tree. "Hello, Adam!" 

Adam shook his head to clear it. "Azure, don't do this!" 

"And why not?" 

"I love you, Azure, that's why! And you love me!" Azure's cold laughter echoed. 

"You do love him!" Aura tried to remind her. Adam nodded. "We've been together for months. . .almost a full year!" 

"You expect me to believe that?" Azure snapped. 

"I never lie, Azure, especially not to you," Aura told her. Adam nodded. 

"I can't lie to you, Azure, and wouldn't if I could!" 

"Tell me this then," Azure glared at Aura. "Who forced me to leave the safety of my own home?!" 

"For your own good," Aura whispered. Tears threatened to spill over in her eyes. 

"Was it?" Azure growled. Sam called to her. "Azure, need any help?" 

She shook her head. "No, Sam, I don't! I can handle these wimps!" 

"Who is this Samuel person, anyway?" Tommy wanted to know. 

"Well, too bad, because you're getting it!" Sam's words were followed by a powerful punch to Adam's guts, which threw the Black Ranger several feet away. 

"My half-brother," Aura choked off the words. The Rangers all stared; they could do no less. Only Adam and Billy were unaffected by her announcement. 

"Your what?" 

Azure and Samuel exchanged evil-filled glances. "Ready to destroy some Rangers?" as she spoke, twin swords appeared in their hands. 

"I'll expain everything later, right now, we have two enspelled people who need either to be helped.. . ," Aura paused, and with great sadness, "or stopped." 

"You couldn't do it!" Azure gloated as she ran towards them. 

"You're right," Aura nodded. "I can't stop you. But I can try and help you." 

"I don't want your help!" Azure told her as she charged towards the Amber Ranger. Aura demorphed, standing in front of her sister unarmed and defenseless. 

"Go ahead, Azure," she said softly. "I'd rather die than live with you as an enemy." 

"So be it!" Azure ran straight for Aura, sword out, but at the last second, stopped. With a powerful backhanded stroke, using only the flat of the blade, she knocked Aura into a tree. The Amber Ranger sank to the ground, unconscious; she'd hit her head on the trunk. 

A moment later, Eric was standing there. "I am pleasantlty surprised by your change in attitude, Azure!" 

Azure smiled a little, first at Eric, then glancing towards Adam. With a viscious air, she went over to Eric and gave him a full kiss on the lips. "Oh, yes it is!" 

Adam stared. "No way!" he breathed, unable to believe his eyes. Azure broke off the kiss and headed towards him. 

"What? Did I hurt you?" sarcasm dripped from her every word. 

"Yes!" Adam's voice echoed with pain. "How could you?" 

"Easy!" Azure laughed. "I just opened my mouth. . inserted my tongue. . and well, I'll let you imagine the rest!" she stiffened a second. Sam looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "What is it, Azure?" 

"Sorry, Black Ranger, I have a package to deliver to my masters!" moving as fast as lightning, she dodged over to the unconscious Aura and picked her up, slinging her over a shoulder. "See ya!!!" 

Billy started over towards them, screaming, "Azure, no!" There was nothing he could do, however, as Azure, Sam, Eric, and Aura all vanished. 

* * * 

The first thing Aura was aware of was being dropped onto a hard cold floor. She rolled over onto her feet and opened her eyes. "Wh. .where am I? Azure?" 

Azure glared at her. "Shut up!" she snarled. 

"Azure! You've got to break the spell!" Aura tried to reason with her; hoping she'd get through to her sister. 

"I am not under a spell! How many times do I have to tell you!" 

_She's just as stubborn as I was when I was under their control. This is bringing back way too many bad memories. Wait, memories. My memories of my love for my friends and family brought me back to my senses. Maybe they can do the same for her._ "Azure, don't you remember what it's like to love Adam?" 

Azure growled, "I remember you forcing me!" 

Aura continued relentlessly. "Do you remember what it was like to kiss Adam for the first time? And how you helped me when we found out I'm an alien? How happy you were when you found out I was still alive after Zedd destroyed Kalakan?" 

Azure's eyes were softening a little, and Aura kept going, calling up all the good memories she could think of. "You helped me when I was too scared to leave the house, I did what I could to help you when you were. You were so angry when Rita and Zedd took Adam last month, you were willing to go to the person you hate the most for Adam: who you love the most." 

Zedd raised his staff as Azure's eyes softened even more, shooting a beam of light out towards her. Azure screamed, falling to her knees. "NO!" 

Aura was already on the move, heading for Zedd. "Leave her alone!" Eric grabbed her, slamming her to the ground, however. 

"I don't think so!" he tried to pin her there, but Aura threw him away from her and ran straight to Azure. 

"Azure, are you all right?" her sister looked up at her, tears in her eyes. 

"Why did you make me leave?" 

"Because I love you, Azure," Aura told her, holding her. "And I was trying to help you, like you helped me, like we've always helped each other." 

Azure looked up into Aura's eyes, and held her in return. "Oh, Aura. .." she whispered; the spell was gone now, whisked away by her love. "No. .." she could see Eric standing behind them; just the sight of him filled her with fear. 

Aura moved her head to block Azure's sight. "Azure, I've said this a thousand times, and I mean it every time. I will not let him hurt you!" 

A second later, Goldar was there, pulling Aura away from Azure. "I don't think you've got any choice what happens to your sister!" 

As Aura kicked Goldar, Eric went over to her, and lifted her head. He covered her mouth with a kiss, then punched her hard in the stomach. Aura's eyes blazed, and with a magnificent move no living human could have performed, she leaped over Goldar and kicked Eric straight in the head, dropping him like a bad habit. She whirled to stand over Azure, fury in her eyes. A cold voice from behind changed that, though. 

"Time to meet your match, Amber Ranger!" Sam snarled as he marched towards her, sword in hand. 

"Sam, is that you?" she asked. 

Sam nodded. "Yes. . .and I am your destroyer!" 

Aura stepped back. "I won't fight you anymore than I would Azure! I never fight my family!" 

"Aura," the voice was soft, but unmistakeably Azure's. Aura whirled to see Rito dragging her sister away. "Azure!" Aura yelled, running towards them. "Rito, drop her!" 

Powerful arms grabbed her from behind. "I don't think so!" Sam told her. Aura struggled, then slammed an elbow hard into his stomach, causing him to double over in pain. 

"Sorry, Sam, but never grab a woman when she doesn't want to be!" 

Sam, Goldar, Rito, and a half-dozen Tengas all circled Aura, each taking a punch or kick at her when they could. Aura returned the blows to everyone but Sam. "Sam, you're my brother. You remember our mother, Shaya. Your father, David. You came here to see me, you helped Azure, remember?" 

"Azure," he said softly, then resumed the battle. "YOu hurt her!" 

"I helped her!" Aura corrected him. "Like I want to help you!" 

"Did you?" Sam asked, steppiing a bit closer to her. Aura nodded. 

"She's free now, like you can be. YOu can be the little boy you were." 

"Who said I wanted to be little?" Sam snarled suddenly. Aura had an answer for him, though. 

"Do you want to be yourself? Or do you want to be Zedd and Rita's slave? I've been through that, Sam, I know what it's like, and I know it's wrong." 

"I _am_ myself!" he insisted. "Are you?" she asked quietly. His roar of assent was followed by a powerful kick to her legs. Aura didn't move, took the blow. 

"I will never fight my family, Sam. And you are my brother. No matter what, I love you. I may have only just met you, but that doesn't change anything." 

Aura had stopped fighting to talk with Sam, and Goldar and Rito took advantage of her distration. With one powerful blow, Goldar knocked her to the ground, then Rito and the Tengas surrounded her, kicking, hitting, punching, doing everything they could to cause damage to her. She stared up at Sam, bleeding from one lip. "Sam. . .brother. .. help me. . ." 

Sam looked down at her. Something inside said he should laugh at her, but a stronger impulse said to help her. He couldn't deny it anymore. "Leave her alone!" he roared. 

"What?" Goldar turned on him in surprise as he stopped on Aura's head, sending her into unconsciousness yet again. Sam pushed him away from Aura. 

"I said leave her alone!" 

Goldar growled, "Get back, you brat!" 

"I do not think so!" it was the voice of the Spirit of the Earth! She hovered for a moment over Aura, then merged with her. The Guardian of the Earth rose from the floor in all her magnificent splendor. "Of all the evil you have done, Zedd, _this_ is the most hideous! Perverting an innocent child to your evil!" 

"What?" Zedd stared as the palace began to shake around him. The Guardian bellowed. 

"Bring Azure out now, or your entire palace is reduced to dust!" 

"Do as she says!" Zedd commanded. The Guardian glanced towards Sam. 

"Sam, come to me," she ordered. As he stepped closer to her, he returned to his normal size and age and attitude. Goldar came out, carrying Azure, who had bruises and cuts all over her from where it looked as if the Tengas had beaten her severly. She looked up weakly at the powerful form of what was her sister and the Spirit combined. 

"Know this, Zedd, that love is a power far greater than any you can ever imagine, and one day, true love and friendship will be your downfall." 

She picked up Azure and held a hand out to Sam, who took it. With a simple flicker of an eyelid, they all returned home. 

* * * 

"Just what is happening here?" Adam glared. Things had went downhill, but not like this, before! Sam, Azure, and Aura, all on the moon, and at least two out of three under spells, assuming Rita and Zedd didn't put one on Aura the moment she arrived. 

"I trust Aura," Billy said calmly. "She's gotten out of there before. Several times." 

"But getting out with both Sam and Azure, who are both under spells?" Adam reminded him. Billy reluctantly nodded. 

"That will be hard, if not impossible," just as he said that, the Guardian, Azure, and Sam all appeared in the Command Center. Adam turned, smiling, until he saw Azure. 

"Noo!!" he clenched his fists in rage, coming over to her. The Guardian smiled a trifle. 

"She is hurt, but will recover. I shall help her, however," amber light played all around Azure, healing all the wound she'd suffered. She opened her eyes, and glanced around. 

"How did I get here?" were the first words out of her mouth. The Guardian began to glow, and as she did so, "I brought you," the Spirit emerged from Aura, then vanished. 

"Thank you, both of you," Azure sighed. Aura had been healed of all her wounds as well, and almost glowed with the usual afterglow of being the Guardian. She yawned, though, smiling a trifle. 

"The only problem with being the Guardian of the Earth, is that when the Spirit and I seperate, I get all the exhaustion from what we did!! I feel like I'm going to sleep for a week!" 

Azure nodded; unable to really look at the tohers. "Let's get you home! Ready, Samuel?" the little boy nodded, as Aura glanced at her friends. 

"If anyone. . .and I mean, _anyone_, bothers me until I want to be bothered, they will get a visit from the Guardian, and she will not be in a good mood!" Aura promised, smiling a little. Adam touched Azure's shoulder lightly. 

"Are you okay?" Azure stiffened at the contact. 

"Don't, please," she whispered. Aura looked at her. "Azure. . . " 

"I'm fine," her sister replied. 

"Are you sure?" Aura wondered gently. Azure nodded as Aura came over to her. "Azure, I don't believe you." 

"Let's go," Azure took Sam's hand, then spoke a trifle more harshly to Azure. "I'm fine!" 

Aura nodded, backing away from a potential confrotation. "I trust you." 

"Call me, please," Adam looked at Azure, tears in his eyes. Azure nodded lightly. 

"I'll try," she said. Aura glanced at Billy. _I can't avoid this forever. And maybe I should stop trying._ "We still need to have that talk." 

"I know," he nodded. 

"Call me later," she told him. He nodded as the three of them left the Command Center. The Rangers all looked at each other, exchanging long, thoughtful glances. The same thought was on every mind. 

_Would Azure ever be the same again, now that this had happened?_

**The End**


	14. Peaceful Amber

**Peaceful Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

_"Where are we?" he asked, looking at the room/place she had brought him to. "Why are we here?" Aura turned to him, her smile scared him, something inside his head warned him that her expression spoke of raw desire, the want, the need to posses, but he shook it off. This was Aura, the love of his life, she wouldn't hurt him. She couldn't possibly hurt him. So why was he so scared? "What business did you have with Eric?" he asked, but he didn't hear his voice say it, had he really asked? Aura pulled him over to the pillows that were everywhere, her smile alluring and frightening at the same time. _

_"Come on Billy, you know you want me. I want you." And she showed him just what she meant by that. Billy was warring with himself, he had fantasized about what this day would be like, he did want to be with her, but he was scared. He wasn't ready for this, he knew it deep down inside... but he couldn't bring himself to tell her to stop. Before he quite realized what was going on, she bore him down onto the floor with a force that didn't invite protest. _

_Still, he did. "I don't think we're ready for this, Aura. I know I'm not, please, let's go home." He tried to sit up, but she held him down with a strength he never would have guessed she owned without being morphed. "Aura, please! Let me go, please, this is going too fast." Somehow she held him down and managed to make things easier for what she had in mind at the same time. Despite his struggles, he couldn't stop her. Part of him had wanted this day, to be with her, but NOT like this! _

_"I will not let you go, I want you and you want me, you can't deny it!" _

_"Yes! I can't deny it, I do want you, but this is wrong!! This isn't right, it's too soon. I'm not ready, Aura please..." he begged. She laughed cruelly in his face as she pinned his hands over his head, holding him prisoner. _

_"I don't care, I went to a lot of trouble to give that brat Azure to Eric to get this place for the two of us! Now, either you can enjoy this, or I can be the only one to enjoy it, the choice is yours." Billy could feel the blood drain from his face. _

_"You did what? How could you, she's your sister!" _

_"She doesn't count. Only what I want counts. You've made your decision, then. Very well, I'm going to enjoy myself... but you're not!" Billy struggled vainly, but he couldn't stop her. A second set of hands grabbed his, steel bands appeared out of the floor and the second pair of hands locked his wrists into them, then the hands did the same to his ankles. He heard Eric's slimy voice drifting away as the hands left him. _

_"He won't give you anymore trouble, Aura. Now I'm off to have 'fun' with Azure." _

_"You won't have as much fun as me, but thanks Eric," Aura called to her evil cohort from her perch on Billy's stomach. Billy caught sight of Eric Matthews disappearing into the fog that had appeared from nowhere, waving at Aura, smiling evilly at Billy. Billy struggled vainly against his bonds, the pillows that had been under him were gone, only a cold floor was there now, and he couldn't get free. Aura pressed an elbow into his chest, making him cough as it got harder to breathe. "Now then, my love, where to begin? I intend to have FUN." _

_"I'm not your love! You aren't Aura, not the true one! You only know desire and possession, you don't know love! I don't love you, I love the REAL Aura! Let me go!!! AURA!!!" he screamed. Her evil side laughed with delight at his agony. _

_"What's the difference? I've got you, and you are MINE to do whatever I want to with," she breathed into his ear. Billy closed his eyes and flinched, he turned his head from her as much as he could. She grabbed his face and forcefully kissed him, a kiss that had it been from true love, would have filled his very being with indescribable love. But it was of possession and control, it filled him with fear and despair. He felt her hands travel down his helpless body and he cried, knowing he couldn't stop her. His tears became tears of pain as she had her 'fun'. Then the pain exploded, tearing a scream from his throat..._

"NOOO!! Stop it!!" Billy awoke in his bed, sitting straight up and shaking uncontrollably. _Aura loves me, that wasn't the real her in there, and that's not how it happened, he told himself._ He forced his heart to stop racing, taking deep breaths and hoping his parents hadn't been awakened by his screaming. After several minutes had gone by and no one tapped at his bedroom door, he knew they hadn't heard him, and he sighed with relief. _It was only a dream, it was only a dream..._

Billy looked at the picture of Aura and himself on his nightstand, reaching out with a trembling hand to take it. He traced the outline of her sweet face, tears of love dropping onto the glass. "I love you Aura, I know that the whole you, the real you, wouldn't have done that to me, wouldn't have pushed me into something I wasn't ready for, something you weren't ready for. But that was a part of you, and she did want me. Which means you want me, as much as I want you." Billy sighed and looked out his window to the Robinsons' house. "But as whole people, we don't want to control or posses each other, we love each other. I have to make sure you know that. I have to make sure you know I love you, I still want to be with you forever. I don't blame you for what happened, I blame Zedd and Rita for taking our love and trying to twist it into something so evil and cruel. Whether that was what they intended to do to start with or not, they are the ones to blame. We love each other too much to hurt each other." 

Billy sighed, placing the picture back on the nightstand and picking up a small white teddy bear that had been sitting next to it for the past three weeks. It was a gift from Aura, and the bear held a small red satin heart, embroidered with three simple words: "I love you." 

"I love you Aura Robinson, with all my heart and soul, I will never hurt you, and I know you will never hurt me. And tomorrow I'm going to make sure you know just how much I love you. I'm not complete without you. And I'm never going to let Zedd and Rita tear us apart. Our hearts will be together for all eternity, I promise you. I love you Aura." Billy slipped back under the sheets and closed his eyes, clutching the teddy bear tightly to his chest. "I love you, Aura," he whispered as sleep claimed him once more, this time with dreams of true, pure love, and a world where he and Aura were together, a world of peace. The nightmare was gone forever. 

* * * 

Azure sat on her front porch, thinking. She hadn't been to school in just over a month; not since Billy and Adam had been kidnapped. Her parents had arranged for her to study at home with them, and she'd been glad of the time away. Aura and the other Rangers would be graduating in a month, and Azure was silently hoping she'd be able to attend. 

"Azure?" the soft voice broke into her thoughts. She looked up to see Adam standing there, looking so lost and lonely it broke her heart._ If only I could still talk to him. . .I miss him so much. . .but those dreams. . ._

"Hi," was all she could say out loud, though, and quickly looked back to the book she'd been reading. Adam didn't give up, though. 

"Azure, please, talk to me?" he asked gently. Azure shook her head, fright in her eyes. 

"Don't. . .I can't," she protested. _I want to. More than I want to breathe, I want to talk to you, to feel free to love you without anything getting in the way, but I can't!_

"Azure," Adam looked at her. "Please, just for one day. I'll leave you alone after this if you want me to," Azure looked at him quietly, then sighed. 

"Okay," _I'll give it one last chance. I have to. As much as the dreams scare me, they're still just dreams. I have to try._

"Azure, I want to help you," Adam said, coming up onto the porch and sitting next to her. 

"How?" Azure asked as she put her book aside. "I don't even know what's going on inside of me!" _I wish I did! Maybe I could stop it then!_

"Then we find out," Adam said simply. "Somehow." 

Azure was quiet for a long time before she finally spoke. "I want your help, but I'm not sure you can help! I saw how ticked at me you got when I kissed Eric." 

Adam smiled just a little. "Because I thought I'd lost you," he told her. _And because it tore my heart out._

Azure sighed and touched Adam's face gently. Both he and she thrilled to the contact. "This is the first time since. . .," she paused, taking a deep breath. "since he tried to. . ." 

Adam waited, knowing what she was about to say, and not about to interrupt her. His heartrate had tripled since she'd let him stay and they'd begun to talk. 

"Rape me," Azure finished. Adam could see how she was trembling when she said it. 

"Remember what Aura said. _Tried._ Not succeeded. And never will again." 

"What if he had?" Azure asked; almost whispered. That had been her nightmare for years. 

"I don't know," Adam admitted. "Is that what you've been thinking about all this time. If he had?" 

"Not only that," Azure looked down, unable to face him. "I was scared that he would try it again. That he wouldn't stop until I was his. Even if it meant killing you." 

Adam spoke seriously. "If he did, I'd come back to protect you. Don't ever be afraid of losing me, Azure, because you can't, as long as we both love each other." 

Azure smiled as she looked into his dark eyes, then as another thought crossed her mind, she went white. "I can't get those images out of my head, either. He's haunting me, not only when I'm awake, but when I'm asleep too!" 

Adam looked at her. "I can try to get them out, if you'll let me." 

Azure smiled, causing Adam's pulserate to accelerate. "I hope you can," she told him. "I can't stand seeing his face!" 

Adam's response to this was to pull Azure into a kiss that both of them were convinced shook the entire house: if not the entire world. When Azure finally moved her head away from Adam, he looked at her a bit worriedly. "Azure?" 

She smiled. "I needed to breathe!" 

"Did it work?" he asked, smiling. Azure frowned, but the light in her eyes, a light he'd long missed, told him he had nothing to fear. 

"What do you think?" she pulled him close and kissed him again. 

"Azure, I love you," he told her. She smiled at him as they kissed yet again. 

"I love you, Adam Park," _I'm free. . .I really am. I can kiss him. . .can love him. . .without seeing Eric's face! It's over or going to be over!_ "One thing, though. How badly did I hurt you during that last battle?" 

"Not much," Adam told her. "Not physically, it hurt the worst to think I'd lost you." 

Azure stood up. "You know this isn't totally solved. It's still going to take a lot for me to recover emotionally," _but being with him. . .being able to be with him without being afraid, is the greatest first step in the world._

"But it's a beginning," he told her. She smiled and nodded. "Hold me?" she asked. Adam did at once. "I love you, Azure Robinson!" 

She leaned against him, listening to his heart beat with love for her. "That feels so good. I've missed that!" 

Things were finally looking up again for Adam and Azure. As they kissed, their thoughts did manage to wander briefly to Aura and Billy, who were finally going to have that long-delayed talk. Neither of them could keep their minds on the other couple for long, though, as they had a month and more of kissing and romance to make up for. 

* * * 

"It's hard to believe that it's been a little over a year since you became a Ranger," Billy said softly as he and Aura walked hand in hand through the park. Both of them were a trifle nervous about what they were going to talk about. 

Aura nodded. "Well, I was always a Ranger," she corrected him, smiling a little. "A year since I knew it. . .and knew about you guys." 

Billy led her over to a large shady tree to sit down. "We have a lot to talk about." 

"I know," Aura took a deep breath. _I've dodged this so many times. Now that we're going to talk about it. . .deliberately going to talk about it. . .I don't know what to say or do._

"So," Billy sighed. "Where do we begin?" 

"With stating what we're talking about," Aura decided. "This is because of what happened when I was split into my good and evil sides. And about what my evil half did to you." 

Billy nodded. Aura looked at him, then looked away. She had known she'd never be able to tell him this to his face, but it had to be said. "That evil me. . .she had the nerve I never did," _and never will have. I know you can't possibly still want to be with me; you've only stayed around me because we're both Rangers, and because we haven't had this talk!_

Billy placed a hand on hers. "Aura, what she did. . .do you know why I didn't object as strongly as I should have?" 

"Why?" Aura managed to keep her voice steady. She hadn't wanted to think the past few months over the very real possibility that what her evil side had done had lost her Billy's love forever. That this talk would be the last one they ever had, as boyfriend and girlfriend. She really didn't think she'd be able to go on without him loving her. Her heart and soul had been so bound up in his for all her life. She wasn't even sure she _could_ love someone else! 

"Because what we did was what I've wanted to do with you for about a year now," Billy told her. Aura went beet-red as the implications of that sank in. "I thought she was you, that's why I didn't say much, even though I did think there was something odd about the way you. ..or she. . whatever. . was acting." 

"I. . .uh. . .oh, I don't know what to say!" Aura was truly speechless for the first time in her life. 

"She was a part of you, Aura. A part without control, without restraint. Your good half had your love for me, but not the desire. Your evil half had the desire, but not the love," Billy explained what he'd been thinking on since it had happened. "But you. . .you have both. . don't you?" 

Aura turned to him, redder than most people would have thought humanly possible. "Yes," she whispered. "Oh, God, yes!!!! I've loved you, wanted you, couldn't get my mind off you for so long! That's why I hate what my evil half did; how can you want to be with me after that sort of experience?" 

She almost got up to leave, when Billy caught her gently by one wrist and pulled her down closer to him. Before she could say or do anything else, he kissed her. Every ounce of his love, his passion, his need, every emotion he held for her, poured from his lips into hers. "Oh, Billy," she whispered as he pulled away from her a little. "Oh, Billy, I love you so much!" 

Billy smiled at her. "Aura Robinson, will you marry me?" 

Aura stared, her mouth dropping open. "What?" 

"Will you marry me?" Billy asked again. Aura trembled with joy; she'd went from near-despair to purest bliss. There was only one way to answer him, the answer that had beat in her heart and soul from the moment she'd seen him at the age of three. 

"Yes!!!" Billy pulled her into another kiss and hug. She could tell by the feel of his arms he didn't want to let her go, and she didn't want him to. 

"You've made me the happiest person in the world!" he told her. Aura smiled and giggled as she leaned against him. 

"I wonder if it's illegal to marry a space alien," she chuckled. Billy kissed her again. 

"Who cares!" Billy laughed. "I know I don't!" 

Aura smiled, then went a little serious. "Billy, you know Rita and Zedd take my existence. . .heck, all of our existences. .. as a personal insult." 

"I know," Billy nodded. "But we will defeat them." 

Aura nodded. " You know, I've loved you since the first moment I saw you, when I was three years old." 

"Really?" he asked. She nodded again. "I knew even then that I loved you." 

Billy smiled. "I know. I've loved you since I saw you then as well." 

"Why didn't we say anything then?" 

He shrugged. "Who knows?" Aura leaned against him a bit more, smiling. 

"But we finally did. Even if it _did_ take me being evil to do it!" Aura still remembered the fire that had swept through her veins during that first kiss, even though she'd been controlled by Zedd at the moment. 

"That is one thing I owe to you. That made me admit my true feelings for you," Billy kissed her again. Aura smiled. 

"I always knew mine. I never thought you cared that much, though." 

"I never knew how to tell you." 

Aura smiled. "I'm glad you guys have always been able to get through to me. Whenever I was with them, I mean. That's been my biggest fear for a while now, that they'd have me again, and that I couldn't be broken free." 

Billy looked her straight in the eyes. "Remember one thing, if you remember nothing else. Remember how much we love you: all of us." 

Aura smiled. "I will. As long as you guys always remember how much I love you." 

Billy got to his feet and pulled her to hers. "When do you want to let everyone know our good news?" 

Aura smiled. "Next month. When everyone comes down for graduation, then we can tell them all at the same time." 

"I just hope we can hold on for a week," Billy chuckled. "When do you want to get married?" 

Aura thought for a few minutes, then smiled. "June 22. The summer solstice, the longest day of the year." 

"Why then?" 

"Two reasons: first: it will be the one year anniversary of my return to Earth from Kalakan. Second: it's the traditional wedding day of the Amber Rangers. Every one of my ancestors were married on the summer solstice, and I won't be the first to break the tradition, even if we are on another planet." 

He smiled. "That's more than enough reason for me," they lost themselves in another kiss, one that seemed to last forever. 

* * * 

_A week later_

"What is it, Aura?" Azure had a tight grip around Adam's waist as they joined the throng in the Youth Center. "What's this big announcement?" 

Jason, Zack, Trini, Kim, Shaya, David, Samuel, Jessica and Frank Robinson, Azure, all the active Rangers, everyone was sitting and waiting for the 'announcement' Aura and Billy had to tell them. 

Aura smiled at Billy. "Who gets to tell them?" 

"We tell them at the same time?" Billy suggested. Aura nodded, smiling. Jason broke in, 

"Someone tell us, please!" 

"Now, now, Jason," Aura teased, "be nice, or we won't say anything!" 

"If you don't tell us, I'll have another breakdown!" Azure half-threatened. Aura chuckled, glancing at Billy. 

"All right, we'll tell. Are you ready?" 

"As I'll ever be!" Billy took a deep breath, as did Aura. "Let's do it." 

Aura smiled at everyone gathered there, and took Billy's hand. "We're engaged!" 

"What!?" Azure stared for a moment, then ran to her sister and hugged her strongly. "I'm so happy for you!" 

"About time!" Jason congraulated them. Aura chuckled, then glanced over at Trini and Kim. Kim had pulled her purse out and was handing a stack of bills over to Trini. 

"What's that about?" Adam asked Azure. The younger girl chuckled. 

"About ten years ago, Trini and Kim made a bet on whether or not Billy and Aura would get engaged before high school graduation. Trini said they would, Kim said Billy was too shy to ask her. Looks like Trini was right: true love wins everytime." 

Adam chuckled, then glanced over to the happy couple. "So, when did this happen?" 

Aura blushed. "About a week ago!" 

"What?" every face turned towards them. Billy explained, "We wanted to wait til everyone was here before we said anything. That way we didn't have to explain it over and over." 

"I'm glad everything is getting back to normal," Azure smiled as she leaned against Azure. "For now at least." 

Adam nodded as he wrapped an arm around her. "So am I." 

The active Rangers had all noticed over the past month Adam and Azure had grown back together, and Azure seemed to be doing much better. Tommy smiled and whispered under his breath, "That's a welcome sight!" 

* * * 

_Woah, I can't believe we're graduating. I'm glad I was able to catch up with the others; that six months' return trip set me behind. I'm even MORE surprised Bulk and Skull are graduating!_ Aura glanced around as the ceremonies began. Billy, the class valedictorian, was not too far from her, thank goodness. She smiled at him when she caught his eye, and chuckled a little. Things were going to start happening very quickly soon. Her birthday and Azure's were in two days, and she and Billy were going to be getting married in a little over two weeks. 

_Good thing Mother's old wedding dress will fit me without having to be altered any. I'm glad she's going to be staying for the wedding; I hope she stays for a long while. I wish she and David and Samuel would just stay here; but they can't. Well, time to get my diploma._

Aura stepped up in her turn to get the diploma, then turned to where Billy was. A quirky smile crossing her face, she gave him a kiss fit to blow the universe apart. "I love you," she told him, smiling. "And nothing's going to stop us from living. .. in the words of numerous fairy tales. . .happily ever after!!!!" 

**The End**


	15. Endangered Amber

**Endangered Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

Azure headed through the park, happy for the first time in she couldn't remember when. With Aura and Billy's engagement announcement of the day before, it really did look as if things were calming down and going back to normal for the Power Rangers and all associated with them. A nasty voice, and one she knew well, shattered her joyous thoughts, however. 

"Hello there, my dearest," Eric said, his usual evil grin spread across his face. For the first time, she didn't feel the gripping fear that had normally paralyzed her when she saw Eric. 

"What do you want?" she asked; calmly for the first time in months she looked at him. 

"What I always want: you!" 

Azure shook her head harshly. "Sorry, Eric, I'm taken!" Eric grabbed her arm in a tight grip. 

"I've been trying to do that, and that boyfriend of your keeps getting in the way!" 

Fear crept into her voice as she asked, "Why are you doing this to me?" 

Eric pulled her closer to him. "Because I love you!" 

Azure glared him. She was completely and utterly sick of his games, of his toying with her, of everything he'd done to her since his return to her life. She'd had more than enough. He'd tormented her mentally, physically, and emotionally for years now, and it was going to stop! 

"Get it through your thick skull that I don't love you!" with all the power she could muster, she kicked him in the 'patented Aura maneuver'. Eric backed away. 

"Oooffff. . .," he glared up at her. "Why do you and your sister keep doing that?!" 

"Because you deserve it!" Azure tried to break his grip on her arm, but to no avail. Eric started pulling her in closer to him again. 

"Deserve it for what? Loving you?" he regretted getting her closer to him as she punched him in the stomach. 

"For harassing me!" 

"It's not harassment!" 

"It is when the other person doesn't love you back! Take the hint, Eric!" Azure slammed her fist into his stomach one more time, tears flowing from her eyes. 

"You will love me!" Eric insisted, trying to pull her in one more time for a kiss. Azure landed a punch on his chin, growling, "I don't think so!" 

Eric managed to grab her wrists firmly. "You will love and marry me!" he insisted. The next words out of his mouth were far too hideous to be considered. Azure's stomach twisted as she had to listen to him, and she returned the favor by twisting Eric's arm. He hissed in anger, and started to hit her. 

"It's either marry me or die!" 

"I'd rather die!" 

"Very well," the Z staff appeared in Eric's hands. "If that's the way you want it. If I can't have you, no one can." Azure took a deep breath, then delivered a karate kick to the staff, knocking it across the path. 

"You were saying?" 

"I can take you with my bare hands!" Eric challenged her. Azure laughed. 

"In your dreams!" Azure launched a series of kicks that drove Eric away from the path and across into some trees. 

"Hah! You'll never win, Azure! You might as well just give up and come with me willingly!" Eric laughed. Azure shook her head, hate blazing in her eyes, but strengthening her this time. 

"Not while Adam is around!" Eric chuckled as the words fell from her lips. 

"Not a bad idea!" 

Azure growled at him, "You touch one hair on his head, I swear I'll kill you!" 

Eric laughed, this was too funny! "You kill me?" 

"What's so funny about that?" Azure drove a startlingly fast series of attacks at him, all of which he dodged. 

"You can't kill me!" 

"Why not?" Azure asked as he pushed her off her feet and hovered over her. 

"Because you're either going to marry me, or die now!" Azure smiled humorlessly. 

"And you are going to be singing soprano for a long time!" she kicked up and she kicked hard! Eric backed away from her, and squeaked, "Azure?" 

"Yes, Eric," Azure scrambled to her feet, a warm feeling of satisfaction filling her. 

"Either stop doing that or just kill me!" he demanded; he'd lost count of the number of times she or Aura had kicked him there! 

Azure stepped towards him. "I think I'll just kill you!" she snarled, letting herself remember how he'd hurt her, scared her, terrified her, for years! It was time for all of that to stop! She glared with full-blown hatred at him. "This is for the nightmare you made my life!" 

She was about to jump and strangle him, as he pleaded for his life. Her only reply was, "You don't deserve any better!" 

"Azure!" Aura's voice broke into her rage. Azure turned, hate pouring out of her eyes, to her sister and the other Rangers. "Azure, this isn't right. I hate this scum as much as you do, but murder is never the answer." 

"He killed the person I was!" Azure screamed, more pain than any of them had ever imagined in her voice. Aura responded calmly. 

"Will killing him bring her back?" Azure looked from her sister to her tormentor, then back again. Adam stepped over beside her. 

"Azure, don't do this, killing him would only make you more like him." 

Azure stared at Adam, breathing heavily, then dropped to her knees. "Adam," she whispered as he knelt next to her in an embrace. "Oh, Azure," he said. "I love you." 

Aura turned eyes as cold as winter snow on Eric. "I didn't do this because of you, don't even think that. I did it for Azure, so she wouldn't become slime like you and your father. Now get out of here!" 

"This isn't the last of this!" Eric insisted. "I will have her as my own!" he teleported back to the moon a moment later. Aura shook her head. 

"What a fruitcake," she sighed as she turned to Azure. "Azure?" 

"I'm going to be okay," Azure looked up at her. Aura examined her closely. 

"Are you sure?" 

"I'll be just fine, honest," Azure promised. Aura smiled; it was good to see Azure feeling so good again. 

"Good, I'm glad," Aura helped her sister to her feet. "Cause our birthday party is tomorrow!" 

Azure smiled. "You know. . . I still can't believe we have the same birthday, just a year apart!" 

Aura chuckled. "I can't believe that really _is_ my birthday. I was so surprised when Mother told me that when you translate the Kalakan calendar to Earth's, that I've been celebrating the right day all along, you could have knocked me over with a feather!" 

"What did you get me for my birthday, Adam?" Azure asked, grinning at her boyfriend. He chuckled. 

"You'll see tomorrow!" Laughing and smiling, the shadow of Eric's presence was gone from them. * * * 

Zedd watched as Eric reappeared; for one of the few times since acknowledging him, the Lord of Evil was actually annoyed with his offspring. "What happened down there?" he asked; though he'd seen everything. 

"I went for Azure, and she. . . she actually _hit_ me!" Eric sounded surprised that Azure had fought back; she'd been terrified by him for so long he'd forgotten what it was like to have her any other way. 

"She did more than hit you, she almost killed you!" Zedd reminded him. Eric proved himself his father's son, though, refusing to admit defeat. 

"I could've taken her!" 

"How?" Zedd retorted; this was almost like arguing with Rita! "Her and her sister keep making you sing soprano! I've already given up hope of becoming a grandfather!!!" 

"I still could've!" 

"You should have taken some Tengas with you!" 

"I don't need their help! I can take Azure on my own!" 

"Whatever!" 

Finster, watching from a corner, chuckled softly to himself. _Like father, like son._ * * * 

"Come on, please!" Adam begged Aura and Azure. The two girls looked at each other; it was their birthday, but this was the first time they'd seen Adam all day, and it was almost afternoon. 

"Why?" Azure asked. She had the strangest suspicion where everyone else was, but wasn't sure. Aura frowned. 

"What's going on, Adam? I haven't seen Billy all day, or any of the others." 

Adam smiled at her. "Everything will be explained in time, just come with me!" 

Aura glanced at he sister. "Do you have any idea what's going on here?" 

Azure shook her head. Aura sighed. "OK, let's get this over with." 

As they walked towards the Youth Center, Azure asked her boyfriend, "Why can't you just tell us what is going on?" 

Aura nodded. "This is starting to get a little scary, Adam!" 

"We're almost there, calm down," Adam chuckled a bit. They had no idea what was in store for them! 

"We'd better be almost there," Aura murmured as they came up into the Youth Center parking lot. No one was going in or out of it, as they usually were; it was quiet. Almost too quiet. 

"Close your eyes, both of you," Adam told them. Azure was quick to protest, "I'm going to walk into something if I do!" 

"Hey, come on, this is me you're with," Adam tried to reassure them. "I won't do anything to hurt you! Honest!" 

Aura took Azure's hand and closed her eyes. "If we bump into anything, I'm taking it out on your hide, Adam!" 

As Adam took Azure's other hand, he smiled. "We won't bump into anything. Come on," they made their way into the Youth Center and down a corridor. "All right, open them!" 

As two pairs of eyes flew open, all their friends and relatives called out, "SURPRISE!" 

Aura and Azure jumped a little, then looked around at the surprise party, smiling. "Woah! Whose idea was this?" Aura asked. Billy smiled as he came up to her. 

"Mine and Adam's!" he was rewarded by a hug and a kiss from Aura, as Azure hugged Adam. 

"You are so sweet!" 

"Thanks!" Adam smiled. Tommy smiled as he joined the little group still in the doorway. 

"You guys going to come and open up these gifts?" he asked. Aura exchanged a quick glance with Azure, then both of them headed for the table piled high with presents. The first thing Aura grabbed was listed for Azure, so she tossed it over to her sister. "That one's for you!" 

Azure read the card, and smiled as she opened it. Inside was a pair of onyx and emerald earrings. "Oh, Adam!" she gave him another hug for the present. Aura, on the other side of the table, opened up one of her own gifts. A sparkling amber and gold engagement ring sparkled at her. 

"Billy!" 

"I thought you'd like it," Billy gave her a hug, and she smiled as she saw the matching one on his own left hand. She kissed him. 

"I love you, Billy!" 

"I love you, too!" 

Azure chuckled as she watched her sister and Billy. "They're getting sappy!" she whispered to Adam. He whispered in return, "Want to get sappy right back at them?" 

As they pulled each other into yet another kiss, Azure reveled in the feel of his lips on hers, and the sweet fire that burned through her entire body with him being so near her. "Why do you have this effect on me?" she wondered. 

"I don't know," Adam told her. "But I like it!" Azure chuckled and whispered, "We can continue this discussion later." 

Tommy looked over at them; both couples had stopped opening presents and were now concentrating on kisses! "Would you two stop that?" 

Adam laughed. "No!" he kissed Azure again; he never really wanted to let her go! 

Billy glanced at Aura. "Want to follow their lead?" 

Aura chuckled. "Yeah, but for now. .. this is our party, and Azure and I both want. . .," she paused dramatically, catching eyes with her sister. Together, they said, "_Food!_" 

Azure chuckled. "You bet! That cake looks delicious!" 

"Want to race me to it, Azure?" with just that, the two girls charged next to the three-layered chocolate cake sitting amidst piles of even more delicious food. 

"Guys, you've got to make a wish!" Adam reminded them. Aura smiled as she took Billy's hand. 

"You can do it, Azure. I have everything I want." 

The younger girl looked around at everyone. "There is only one thing I want, besides what I have," she said as she hugged Adam yet again. 

"What's that?" he asked. 

Azure looked down, guilt passing over her features for a moment. "Justice to be served," Adam lifted her head and kissed her. 

"One day, it will be." 

Aura nodded. "Somehow, in someway, it will be, Azure." 

Azure smiled. "I know. Let's eat!" 

As the party got into full swing, the two Robinson girls and their friends were able to forget for a little while that they were also the defenders of the Earth, the Power Rangers. 

This forgetting would not, could not, last forever. * * * 

"So it's their birthday!" Zedd peered down at Earth. "Let's make this a celebration they won't forget!" 

"What do you have in mind, my evil husband?" Rita asked, glaring at the happy events below. She'd never had a birthday party; the closest she'd ever come was when Finster had made a monster for her birthday. 

"The Rangers are into saving the Earth, either the environment or as Rangers," Zedd mused. "What if we make a monster that causes earthquakes? The damage it will create will be _devastating!_" 

"I love the way your evil mind works, Zedd!" Rita cackled evilly. 

"It is evil, isn't it!" Zedd congratulated himself. He glanced down towards Earth, and raised his staff to transform a petrified tree into his newest creation. "Destroy the Earth, Envirotron!" 

"Yes, my lord!" the monster cried out. "And I shall begin with the Power Rangers!" * * * 

"Rocky, where do you put all that food?" Tommy asked as he watched the Red Ranger devour his third piece of cake. 

"In my stomach, where else?" Rocky glanced over at him; Tommy was still on his first slice! 

"You never cease to amaze me, Rocky!" Azure was also staring at the food-munching maniac. Aura chuckled. 

"I think he's got a hole in his gut somewhere where all the food goes!" she declared. Adam came over to take a seat next to Azure. 

"Believe it or not, he used to eat more than that in one meal!" 

Azure giggled at what Aura had said. "Rocky, the man with a black hole in his stomach!" 

Everyone was laughing when suddenly the entire room shook with an earthquake. "What's going on?" Azure screamed. A few moments later it stopped, and Adam glanced at the other Rangers. They'd all heard their communicators beeping during the quake. 

"Earthquake," he said. "Maybe we should go see how bad the damage is." 

Aura nodded. "Let's go," Before anyone could say anything or stop them, the Rangers were heading out the door. Azure looked after them. 

"Be careful," she whispered. Didn't Rita and Zedd even give them a break on birthdays?? * * * 

"It. . .it's a tree?!" Adam stared at Envirotron as it marched towards the morphed Rangers. The others were just as surprised as he was. 

"It's a petrified tree!" Aura exclaimed. She felt a deep sense of nausea at the sight of this thing; it seemed to embody all that went against being the Ranger of the Earth. "I think I'm going to be sick!" 

"That's what caused the earthquake?" Rocky couldn't believe his eyes; none of the Rangers could. Tommy nodded. "Has to be!" 

"I am here to destroy you and the world, Rangers!" Envirotron roared, drawing it's sword and slamming it down onto the ground. "Bye-bye, Rangers!" 

The earth shook under their feet, crevices opening up all around them. The Rangers grabbed light poles and trees, anything they could to keep from falling down them. Aura turned around, trying to find Billy. As she did so, a crack in the earth opened up directly under her. 

"Billy!" she screamed as she fell, grabbing onto the edge with her fingertips. Billy ran over to her as the quake ceased, reaching out to grab her hand. He started to pull her up when Envirotron spoke coldly. 

"No way, Blue Ranger! This is too good of an opportunity to resist!" the monster raised it's sword again and slammed it into the ground, causing yet another quake. Billy lost his grip on Aura's arm, and she lost her tenuous hold on the side of the crevice. 

"Billy!" she screamed as she fell out of sight. He whirled around to see the other Rangers forming the Power Blaster at once; they were going to get rid of this thing in record time now! He joined his Power Lance with it, and moments later, Envirotron was nothing but a bad memory. Tommy laid a hand on Billy's shoulder as the monster vanished into dust. 

"Come on, let's see if Alpha can find out what happened to Aura," he told the distraught Blue Ranger. "If anyone can find her, he can." 

Billy got to his feet, casting another glance down the crevice. _You'd better be all right, Aura. I'll find you, if I have to search through Heaven and Hell to do it._ * * * 

"Any sign of her?" Billy asked a few minutes later in the Command Center. Adam had just teleported out to get Azure, she deserved to know what was going on. 

"No, Billy, I'm sorry," Alpha shook his head. Billy visibly restrained himself from punching the console in frustration. 

"Don't blame yourself, Billy," Tommy advised. "It was Rita and Zedd's monster that did it!" 

Just then, Adam and Azure returned to the Command Center. "What's going on?" Azure wanted to know. Tommy sighed. 

"Aura's missing." 

"What?" the younger Robinson girl frowned at once. Could things possibly get any worse? 

"We were fighting that monster, it caused another earthquake, and she fell into a crevice," the White Ranger reported dully. Azure's eyes filled with fear and anguish. 

"Not again!" she whispered. "I can't lose her again!" Tommy did his best to reassure her right away. 

"We're looking for her. If Zedd and Rita had her, Azure, you know they'd be bragging about it by now." 

Azure growled, "If they hurt her in any way, shape, or form, I swear what I did to Eric yesterday will look like a walk in the park!" 

Adam put a careful arm around. "Azure, please, calm down." 

She sighed a little. "I'll try." * * * 

"We finally did it!" Zedd crowed in triumph as they watched Aura falling into the depths of the crevice caused by their monster. "That pesky Ranger has met her end!" 

"Yes!" Rita screamed with joy. "At last!" Goldar sulked in the corner; his one real goal for the past few months had been to bash in the Amber Ranger's head personally. 

"Now the rest of the Rangers will be finished!" 

Rita nodded her agreement with Zedd. "We will destroy them one and all! It'll be so easy with the Amber brat gone!" 

"Yes!" Zedd thundered. "And then we will rule the world!" 

"And no one can stop us!" * * * 

Her head pounded furiously, spinning this way and that. "Uhhhhh. ..," she made her way to her feet and looked around. "Where am I?" 

Even as she said that, she realized something else. "WHO am I?" her mind was a complete blank, and her surroundings gave no clues as on how to fill up that blank. Towering walls of stone surrounded her, going up as high as she could see. 

She glanced down at herself, trying to figure out some clue as to her identity. Hair flowed to her waist in a black stream, she had no idea what color her eyes were, she was dressed in a simple outfit of a brown shirt and blue jeans, wearing a strange amber amulet. She tried to take it off to look at it, only to find it wouldn't come off. "That's odd. It must have some special way to undo it. Wish I could remember it." 

She shrugged and dropped the necklace; she had more important things to do than worry over a piece of jewelry. Like getting out of wherever she was and finding someone who knew _who_ she was! 

"Looks like the only way out is up!" she startled climbing the rocks, and was somewhat amazed to find out she was scaling them with more or less no effort! "I must be a rock-climber!" she theorized. It didn't take her too long to get to the top, and as she worked her way out, the first things she saw were two very strange individuals. 

One of them, looking like a gold-armored monkey, glared at her. "So you survived!" 

She looked at him, frowning. "Apparently so. This might seem a rather strange question to you: but. . .do I know you?" 

The other creature, looking like a large skeleton with weird paint designs, stared at her. "Huh?" 

"Do I know you?" she repeated. "I don't remember you if I do; in fact, I don't remember _anything!_" 

The two strange creatures exchanged glances. "Are you sure?" the first one asked. She nodded. "Not a single thing?" 

"Nothing," she told them. "My mind is so blank it's not believable." 

She could have sworn they were trying to smile. Then the gold one told her, "We're your friends. I'm Goldar, and this is my friend Rito. We know a place we can take you to help you remember things." 

"Really?" she smiled, this was great luck! First people she met could and would help her! 

Rito and Goldar exchanged long, evil glances. This was the best stroke of luck to come their way in centuries! The Amber Ranger had no memory of who she was, of who they were, or anything! * * * 

"Found her!" Alpha cried out triumphantly! "She's climbed out of the crevice, Billy. But. . .there's something wrong!" 

Billy ran over to the little droid. "What is it, Alpha?" he started to scan the readouts. "I don't believe this." he sighed. 

"What is it?" every Ranger in the Command Center exclaimed. Billy turned to them, the strangest look on his face they had ever seen. Tommy asked cautiously, "What's wrong, Billy?" 

"According to these readings, Aura has lost her memory," he said softly. "And Rito and Goldar are with her right now." * * * 

She stepped over to them. "You guys better be able to help me get my memory back!" 

"We can," the gold one told her. Just then, six flashes of light become six people, wearing an odd sort of tight-fitting suit, each a different color. One of them shouted, "Don't believe them!" 

She glanced over at the one it looked like had shouted, the one in blue. "Who is he?" 

"Just a nobody," the bone-person told her. The one in black ran towards her and started tugging at her arm. 

"He's your fianc&0233!" 

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, I don't remember him, or you!" she pushed the stranger away from her. He stayed away, but kept talking. 

"Aura, please, try to remember Azure!" she frowned, searching her memory, but coming up blank. 

"Sorry, nothing," she shook her head. She almost wanted to remember, his voice was so nice, and that name, Azure, it seemed to mean a lot to him. 

"She's your sister," the one in blue told her. "Come on, try." 

She took a deep breath, scanning what seemed to be a totally blank brain. Then, out of nowhere, something popped into her mind. 

_She circled them, her enemies, a row of six brightly clad warriors. Her master wanted their destruction, and she lived to serve him. With her ax in her hands, she charged, their death her only goal._

"I. . .I think I remember something," she said softly. The black-garbed one nodded. 

"What?" 

"I'm fighting. . .all. . . all of you," she said uncertainly, not sure of the memory floating it's way to the top, or of the emotions that were trying to reach her. A white flash of light startled her as it turned into a rather attractive young woman, with a perplexed expression on her face. 

"Aura?" she said. 

"Excuse me, do I know you?" the woman came closer to her, fear in her eyes. 

"I'm your sister, Azure," the woman told her. She frowned. 

"I don't know you." 

The woman, Azure, grabbed her in a sudden hug. "Please, remember you, saving me from Eric!" 

"Who?" she frowned; another memory flashed through her at the contact, but she couldn't grasp onto it. Just then, the two strange beings vanished, after a whispered conversation. "Oh, they left," she frowned even deeper as she noticed this. "They said they'd help me get my memory back." 

The one in red shook his head. "They can't help you get your memory back." 

"I want it back!" she complained. "I don't know who any of you are, and I'm . .. I'm scared," it felt strange to say that, as if she weren't used to such admissions. From the way they were all looking at each other, if they did know her, she wasn't. 

"We're friends," the blue one told her, holding his hand out to her. "Please, trust us." 

She stammered a little as she said, "I. ..I want to. I really want to trust you. But right now, I don't know you." 

The blue one put his hands to his belt, and a moment later, a very handsome young man stood where he had. "I'm Billy," he said as she jumped a little, startled at the sudden transformation. She smiled. 

"You're also cute." 

_"We're_ also engaged," he told her, holding up his left hand, then gently taking hers and showing her the duplicate of the ring he wore on it. "See." 

The others also changed, proving themselves normal humans under the costumes. She looked around at them. "I. . .are we friends? I know what I'm saying must sound stupid, but I don't _know_ any of you!" 

"We're friends," the one in black told her. "I'm Adam. I'm also your sister's boyfriend," he indicated the girl who had called her 'sister'. 

"Ummm. . .one question, you," she glanced at Azure. "What did you call me? What name?" 

"Aura. Aura Robinson." 

_Aura. Yes. That's my name. It feels right. But. . .there's more to it, I just can't remember. _"That's a nice name," was all she said out loud, though. 

"Will you trust us, Aura?" 

Aura looked at them all. "You say I know you, that we are engaged," she glanced at the handsome Billy. "I'll trust you. For now." 

"Thank you," he smiled, taking her hand. 

_I just hope I can remember more. . .soon._ * * * 

"Why did you not destroy her!?" Zedd raged at Rito and Goldar. When he'd seen the Amber Ranger making her way out of the crevice, he'd dispatched these two bozos to do her in once and for all, and they hadn't completed their mission. 

"Sire, she has no memory! She didn't know who we were, or who she was!!!!" 

Zedd stared; he had to have heard that wrong. "What?" 

Rito nodded. "Yeah, she was even gonna come with us!" Goldar agreed once more with him. "She didn't even know Billy!" 

"Then why did you _not_ bring her here?" Zedd roared; an amnesiac Power Ranger could be molded to do the greatest evil in the world, managed properly! 

"The Rangers showed up, and that brat sister of hers came down! They convinced her to stay with them!!!!" Goldar was quick to throw the blame off himself. 

Rita threw in her advice. "So go back down there and _unconvince_ her!" 

"Uh, how are we gonna do that, sis?" 

"Tell her that the Rangers were lying to her, that they aren't her friends!" 

"We'll go right away, come on, Rito!" Goldar started pulling Rito out of the palace. This wasn't going to be an easy mission, he feared. * * * 

"So, this is where I live?" Aura asked, glancing around the house. Azure nodded. 

"Yeah, this is where we live with our parents. They're still at the Youth Center, helping to clean up," Azure told her. She glanced around. 

"Nice place," it was indeed a beautiful home 

"Well, what do you think?" Azure asked as she looked around the house. 

"I remember. . .being small here," she whispered, as a memory flickered through her brain. 

"What do you remember?" 

She glanced at the window seat in the eastern window. "I remember. . .me, and a little boy. We were. . .," she blushed. "We were kissing." 

"I remember," Azure chucked; she had been eight, Billy and Aura had been nine. "I was hiding behind that chair." 

Aura smiled at Billy. "It was you, wasn't it?" Billy nodded. She smiled again. "I remember that. I remember. . .liking you." 

Billy stepped a bit closer to her. "We've been friends all our lives. Only recently did we share our true feelings with each other." 

Aura glanced at him, then down at the rings on their hands. "I love you," the only thing wrong with what she said was that it was more of a question than a statement. 

"We love each other, otherwise we wouldn't be getting married in a couple of weeks," Billy told her. She sat down and put her head in her hands, tired suddenly. 

"I just wish I could remember more than just things that happened ten years ago!" 

"You will!" Azure reassured her. Aura sighed and looked around. 

"I hope so, I really hope so. I'm going to go for a walk. Maybe I'll find something that'll jog my memory." 

Azure smiled. "Sounds like Aura to me!" 

Aura got up and headed for the door. "I'll be back. Hopefully with more memories than I have now." 

"I hope so," Azure smiled at her. As the door shut behind her, Azure looked at the others. "I hope it was a good idea to let her out alone." 

"It'll be okay," Adam said, holding her. "I really hope so." * * * 

As Aura walked, she looked around for anything that might trigger a memory, any memory, good or bad. But nothing looked familiar, she might as well have been in a different country for all the memories this brought to her. 

"Hello again!" it was the gold monkey again, with his friend. What were their names again? Oh, yes, she had it now! 

"Goldar and Rito wasn't it?" she smiled a little at them, even though they had made her a bit nervous by appearing gout of thin air. "You scared me." 

"I'm sorry," Goldar told her. "We just came to make sure the Rangers haven't been lying to you. You know, those people you went with." 

"Oh, them. They've been very nice to me," she glanced at the ring on her hand. "Apparently I'm engaged, even though I don't remember much about him. Billy. He seems quite nice." 

"Is that what they told you?" Goldar looked disapproving. "They lied to you!" 

Aura frowned. "What do you mean? We do have these matching rings, and they are engagement ring!" 

"That means nothing!" Goldar told her. "A lot of people have engagement rings!" 

Aura was quick to reply, "I remember a little. I remember the two of us together, as children, but that's about it." 

"Come with us, and we will show you the truth!" Goldar promised her. Aura was reluctant, she remembered what they had told her. 

"I don't know, they told me that you couldn't help me get my memories back," she murmured. Goldar did his best to look trustworthy. 

"Another lie. You can trust me." 

"How can I be sure?" she asked; though she was beginning to wonder about them. Why couldn't she remember anything but the vaguest things? 

"We can show your past," Goldar offered. "They can't do that." 

Aura took a deep breath; this was possibly her only chance to regain her memory, and they wouldn't hurt her, anyway. "All right." 

"Come on then," Goldar held his huge hand out to her, and she took it. A moment later, they were no longer on Earth. * * * 

"I hope Aura's okay," Azure said as she leaned against Adam, his arms wrapped around her. Adam kissed her lightly on the head. 

"She'll be okay; she's still got the Spirit of Earth to watch out for her," their communicators sounded just then. "What is it, Alpha?" 

"Rangers, Goldar got to Aura, he convinced her to go to the moon with him!" Adam, Azure, and Billy all sat up straight. 

"How?" was the only thing Billy asked. Alpha replied, "I am not sure, Rangers. Teleport back to the Command Center at once!" 

"Let's go, this is bad!" Adam said as he got to his feet. Billy nodded. 

"This goes beyond bad!" 

When they got to the Command Center, the others were already there. Aisha stared into the viewing globe, trying to figure out just what had went on. "He must have told her that they could bring her memories back. It's the only thing I can think of." 

"But they're going to bring back the wrong ones!" Azure cried, remembering all the bad memories that Aura must have. Billy nodded, and voiced what she was too afraid to. 

"She certainly has a lot of the wrong ones to bring back. And I'm betting Zedd can twist the other memories." 

Azure shivered as she thought of every time Aura had been evil, had been under Zedd's control, of the horrors she'd been put through in her life. "No," she whispered, then looked at Adam. "Get her back, please!" * * * 

"Welcome, Aura," Zedd almost smiled as she appeared with Goldar and Rito. To have one of his mortal enemies like this, completely vulnerable, with all her power, yet none of her memory! A dream come true! He certainly hoped the plan Rita had come up with while they were waiting would work. 

"Hello," Aura said tentatively, looking at the strange couple before her. "Um, who are you?" 

"I am Lord Zedd," he told her. "And this is my wife, Rita Repulsa." 

Aura was about to say hello, when the woman launched herself at Aura. "My baby is home!" 

Aura stared at her. "Excuse me?" What in the world was going on here? The woman hugged her tightly, and Aura uncertainly returned it. 

"My daughter! You are my daughter!" 

"I am?" Aura glanced towards Zedd; he barely looked human! Rita answered the unspoken question. "Your father didn't always look like that!" 

"I don't remember you," she sighed. "Or much about those people I met before." 

Rita quickly explained that Aura had been kidnapped when she was just born, and that Azure's parents had adopted and raised her from the time she was six months old. Aura frowned as the story came to an end. 

"How can you be so sure that I'm your daughter then?" 

"We did a genetic match," Rita told her. "You are indeed my Aura." 

Aura sighed. Had she really found her family? "I want to remember you, I really do. I want to remember everything. Can you help me to remember? Mom? Dad?" 

"That we can," Zedd nodded. This was going better than they had planned; she'd fallen for it so fast it was incredible! He'd always given the Amber Ranger credit for more sense than this! Perhaps it had something to do with the vulnerability having no memory gave her. . . 

"Please do," she was almost begging, she wanted the empty vaults in her mind filled up so badly it hurt. 

Zedd smiled, as best he could, at her. "First you must rest. Your brother will show you the way." Eric stepped up to her. 

"Hello, sis," he smiled at her. Aura looked at him; they didn't look much alike, but apparently he was her brother. "I'm Eric, your brother." 

"Oh, hello," she nodded at him. "I'm sorry, I don't remember you," she'd lost track of how many times she'd said that to someone that day. 

"That's okay," Eric told her. "Come on, we can talk on the way to your room." 

Aura shrugged. "Let's go." 

He led her down a hallway into a fairly comfortable section of the palace, much different from the cold austerity of the throne room. "So," he asked. "How is my ex-girlfriend Azure?" 

"She seems to be quite a nice person," Aura told him, a little surprised that he knew the same girl she had met. 

"She is," Eric agreed. "But that jerk stole her away from me." 

"Adam?" Aura asked, remembering Adam had said he was Azure's boyfriend. She hadn't seemed to object at the time, either. Eric's voice was full of bitterness as he replied in the affirmative. 

"Eric," she had to ask this. "What are our parents like? I don't know them at all, but now I'm here, and I have no memory of anything but the past few hours." 

"You'll find out everything you need to know tomorrow," he promised her. "Here's your room, and if you need anything, I'm right across the hall. See you tomorrow, sis," he gave her a brotherly good night kiss. 

"Good night," Aura sighed and smiled. _Home at last. Or. . .am I? I guess I'll find out tomorrow._ * * * 

"Oh, this is unbelievable, Zeddy!" Rita was even happier than she'd been when they thought Aura was dead in the crevice. 

"She actually believes that we are her parents!" Zedd laughed, filled with an unholy glee. 

"Who would have thought a little thing like amnesia would bring about the downfall of the mighty Amber Ranger!!!" Rita's dark laughter filled the throne room. Zedd agreed. 

"We will soon turn her to the ways of evil!" 

"And this time, there will be no going back for her!" 

Zedd's final gloating sentence hung in the air for a time. "Her family and friends will turn on her. And she will live out the rest of her days as our slave and our daughter and as our greatest warrior!" * * * 

"Billy, you're going to wear a hole in the floor," Adam advised. He, Billy, and Azure were the only ones left in the Command Center, everyone else had went to help clean up after the aborted birthday part, and then went on home to bed. Billy stopped pacing at Adam's insistence. 

"Sorry," he glanced over to Adam, who had Azure leaning against him. Sleep had finally conquered the dauntless Robinson girl. 

"Any progress on a way to get Aura's memories back?" Adam asked Alpha. The robot shook his head. "Nothing yet, Adam, I'm sorry." 

Adam sighed. "What I'm worried about most is what they're going to tell her. About you, Billy, about herself, about us. . .," his voice trailed off. 

"Let's just hope we get her and her memories back before they get the chance," Azure murmured. Adam smiled at her. 

"Azure, you're going home. You need to get some sleep!" he told her. Azure glared at him. 

"Move me, and I'll never talk to you again!" Adam tried reasoning with her; even though he knew perfectly well he wasn't going to win. 

"You're not going to be of any help to us if you're asleep, and you're going to be asleep no matter where you are, and I'd prefer it if you were safe in your own home." 

Azure turned another of those stern gazes on him. "Adam, please. I need to be here if you find Aura. . when you find Aura. This is important to me." 

Adam sighed. "I never have won an argument with you." Azure chuckled. 

"And you probably won't anytime in the neat future," Azure told him as she kissed him on the nose. Billy managed to ignore their casual romance as he started searching for Aura yet again. Adam looked at him. 

"You should get some rest, Billy," the Black Ranger tried to tell him. Billy threw a cold stare at him. 

"Want to lose another argument, Adam?" Billy wasn't going to stop searching for Aura, no matter what it took. 

RANGERS, AZURE, IT IS TIME THAT YOU THREE GOT SOME REST. Zordon told them. 

"Zordon, please!" Azure begged. "I have to be here in case something happens! 

I HAVE MADE ARRANGEMENTS. Three cots appeared behind one of the consoles in the Command Center. YOU MAY REST HERE. 

"You know us too well, Zordon," Adam chuckled as he and the others made their way over to them. 

WE WILL WAKE YOU IF THERE IS ANY NEWS. 

Adam, Billy, and Azure laid down on the cots, Billy fully intending only to close his eyes for a few minutes. The next thing they knew, Tommy was nudging Adam. "Time to wake up," he chuckled. 

"Uhhhh," Adam was slow to wake up in the mornings. "Lemme sleep, mom." 

"No, and don't call me that," Tommy laughed as Adam woke up fully and sat up. 

"Uh, oh, good morning, guys," Adam glanced around to see Billy waking up on the other two cots. 

"Morning," Tommy smiled. "We had a funny feeling we'd find you guys here. Azure's parents told us that she never came home last night, we tried your house, but you weren't there, so this was the next logical choice." 

Adam sat up. "We were trying to find a way to help Aura." 

Tommy nodded. "Billy already told us. You want to go wake up your girlfriend? We've been having problems on that front!" 

Adam chuckled as he leaned over Azure, then kissed her on theta lips. Azure's eyes flew open at once and she smiled, the first genuine smile since she'd heard of Aura's disappearance. "Good morning, beautiful." Adam told her. 

"I can't tell you what a wonderful thing that was to wake up to," she sat up and looked around. "Any luck finding Aura?" 

Adam shrugged. "Dunno, I just woke up myself," he glanced at Billy to see if there was any report; the Blue Ranger had already hit the computers. 

"I think we may have found her," he said, causing a ripple of excitement to run through the Rangers. Adam smiled. 

"Great. Can you get her memory back?" 

Billy glanced at Alpha. "That's going to be the hard part, but Alpha thinks he's found a way." 

Alpha explained the solution he'd come up with, and every Ranger stared at him as if he'd lost his mind. Azure was the only one who actually said anything, though. "Alpha! I don't like the idea of hitting her over the head with a large rubber mallet, even if it is a backup plan!" 

Alpha defended his idea. "Well, she lost her memory from the fall into the crevice, hitting her on the head might bring it back!" 

Azure was visibly trying not to laugh, and Adam jumped into it quickly. "We'll keep it as a very last resort!" 

"Extremely last resort!" Billy chimed in. Adam agreed. 

"So last resort, I can't even describe how last it is!" 

"Can't we just get her out of there first?" Azure asked quietly. Adam started working on the computers as well, doing what he could to help out. His analysis, when matched with Billy's was, "I think so." * * * 

"This is too perfect!" Zedd gloated. Rita, standing next to him as he waited for Aura to emerge, nodded. 

"I know, but we can't do anything to bring back her real memories, Zedd!" 

"It doesn't matter!" Zedd reminded her. "We are replacing them!" 

Rita laughed. "There will be nothing the Rangers can do to bring her back this time!" After all, there was no magic involved, no spells, just a few well-placed and fine-tuned lies, on a mind so malleable at the moment it would accept anything! 

Aura stepped into the room, clad in an outfit reminiscent of that which her evil half had worn during it's brief solo existence. Eric had helped her pick it out before going off on his own business that morning. 

"Good morning, mom, dad," she smiled at them; her father didn't seem half as scary this morning as he did the night before, when she'd first met him. 

"Morning, my daughter," Zedd greeted her. "Sleep well?" 

Aura nodded. "I still don't remember much, though. Almost nothing at all, actually." 

Zedd beckoned her over to him. "Come here, there's something I want to show you. It will help you jog your memory." 

He waved his staff and a section of the air turned into a viewscreen of sorts. She saw the people she had been with the day before, talking to her, and about her. "You see, my dear," Zedd explained. "We are not from this world. Our world was destroyed some time ago, by these same people you were with. They were not always aware that you aren't one of them; this was their reaction when they found out." 

Aura watched, rage filling her, as she saw them talk behind her back, insult her to her face, give her the cold shoulder, and finally the young man she thought she had been engaged to snubbed her to her face. "And they were so nice to me yesterday when I was with them!" she breathed. As she watched, the scenes stirred up others within her, calling up other times of battle, when she had seen her father, and not known who he was, but had known to obey him, and had fought these folk. 

"I know!" Zedd chuckled softly; showing her the scenes from when his evil clones had driven her away from Earth was working! 

"Why would they want me to think they were my friends?" she wondered. Zedd had already thought of that, however. 

"To turn you against your own family," he explained how they hadn't always known she was their daughter, only recently had that been discovered, when they'd been able to search the world for their missing offspring. 

"I can't believe I was actually starting to like them!" 

Zedd glanced down towards the Earth, using his visor to scan to see what the Rangers were up to. What he saw infuriated him. "Blast it!" 

"Father?" she asked, brows furrowing. "Is something wrong?" 

He almost laughed. For the first time, he spoke the truth to a Power Ranger. "The Rangers are planning on getting you away from us. I will _not_ let them have you!" 

"Maybe I can just tell them that I don't want to be with them; that I want to be with my real family!" 

Rita quickly hid the evil glint that shone in her eyes at this sign their brainwashing was working. "Let us hope it works, but take your uncle Rito with you. And go morphed." 

"Morphed?" she turned a curious look on them. 

Rita and Zedd exchanged glances; they hadn't counted on her not remembering she was the Amber Ranger. Rita explained, "You are the Amber Ranger, your powers come from the Earth, the planet you are sworn to protect. The Power Rangers are our mortal enemies; you have fought with them, trying to take over the world, for some time now." 

Guilt flashed across her face as Aura took that in. Zedd added, "When you lost your memory, we took the opportunity to regain you on our side. We only want what is best for you, my child. You morph using the words 'Amber Ranger Power' and you demorph with 'Amber Ranger, Power Down'." 

Aura nodded, and morphed a moment later. She smiled, reveling in the feeling of power that filled her. "Oh, wow!" she breathed. "This is incredible!" 

She glanced over at Rito and beckoned towards him. "Let's go, Uncle Rito!" 

"OK!" Both he and she teleported out of the Lunar Palace. * * * 

"Ready?" Adam took a deep breath as they prepared to teleport to the moon. They had no idea what they would find there, no way to tell just how badly Aura's mind had been warped by Rita and Zedd's lies. 

"As ready as we'll ever be," Rocky sighed. They were going to teleport from the park, and Azure was there to see them off. She hugged first Adam, then Billy. 

"Bring her back," she told them. "I don't want her hurt, and what they're doing is worse than any spell they've ever tried." 

Aura and Rito chose that moment to appear. Tommy took a deep breath as he gestured towards them. "Looks like we don't have to go all the way to the moon." 

"Rangers, my parents showed me how you really feel about me, how you hate aliens, like I am. I've got my real family back now, so just leave us alone!" 

Adam groaned; he'd been hoping this wouldn't happen. "They had to show her that, didn't they? Aura, that wasn't us, we were cloned! By ZEDD!" 

Aura shook her head. "I don't believe you. I just came to tell you to leave me alone. I don't want anything to do with you." 

Azure came over to her. "Aura, you are my sister, be it adopted, but I love you, and I can't survive without you!" 

Aura pushed the young woman away gently. "I didn't see you saying anything bad about me in what my father showed me, Azure, but you are with them, and that means you must think like they do about me." 

All the Rangers' stomachs turned as Aura referred to Zedd as her father, and Billy was almost positive he could sense Neras, Aura's true father, turning over in his long-gone to dust grave. Azure kept speaking to Aura, though, ignoring the nausea that simple phrase had started in her. 

"I couldn't say anything bad about you, I love you! You saved my life on more than one occasion!" 

Aura looked gently at her. "Then why do you stay with these people who hate me?" 

Azure took a deep breath; she hoped this would work, she was willing to do anything necessary to save Aura and restore her memories. "I don't know. Maybe it's my love for Adam." 

"Eric still cares about you." 

As much as Azure loved Aura, she could not, would not accept that. "If he cared, he wouldn't have tried to _rape_ me!" 

"What?" Aura growled, surprised at this. Azure repeated it, and Aura looked over to Rito. "Uncle Rito, is this true?" 

He shrugged. "If it is, I dunno!" 

Aura looked a trifle confused at this knowledge. "I can't believe he would do that. My brother was so nice yesterday, to me at least." 

Adam called out to her, "Aura, you've got to believe us, we don't hate you. You're our friend!" 

Azure trembled just a bit at the memory of Eric. "That's how he was to me before he tried to rape me the first time, when I actually cared for him. Aura, you were there the night he tried it the first time, you saved me." 

Aura took a deep breath; this was far too confusing for her. "I don't know who to believe, you guys say you care, my parents say they do, I'm very confused!" 

"You have every right to be," Azure told her. _I think we're going to get her back, she doesn't trust them as much already!_

Billy stepped closer to Aura. "Aura, I do love you!" he told her. "I don't know what I'd do without you!" 

She looked at him, biting her lip. She remembered seeing his image in what her father had shown her rejecting her. "If I love you," she began. "I don't remember it." 

"Remember this?" Billy came closer to her, grabbed her in a sudden hug, pulled her helmet off, then kissed her. In that moment, her entire body tingled with light and love and joy, chills ran up her spine and down again, her heart pounded, her breath came in short pants, and her blood turned to molten lava. 

"Oh. . .oh, _wow!_" she breathed. _Oh, that was a KISS!! That was a real and true kiss!_

"Does that show you how much I care?" he smiled at her, and her mind shuffled through a thousand images of him smiling at her just that way. 

Azure bit her lip, managing to say, "I don't think someone who hated you could kiss you like that!" 

Aura stared at him, smiling. "I. . .I love you," her voice was much firmer this time around; she could clearly remembering holding those emotions for this man, but she couldn't remember _him_! Not completely, not yet. She didn't know why she loved him, how it had happened, all she knew was, the emotions existed. 

Billy grabbed her up into a hug and spun her around, calling her name out with joy. She was quick to tell him, though, "I barely remember you, but what I remember is love!" 

The semi-reunion was shattered when Rito pulled her away from Billy. "OK, leave my niece alone! Time to go home, your parents are going to want to talk to you!" 

Before the Rangers could move, they had both vanished. Adam stared in complete and utter disbelief. "I cannot believe this!" 

"We had her for a minute," Azure tried to be positive. 

"It's always for a minute!" Adam had grown quite sick of Rita and Zedd have Aura under their thumb somehow, the Rangers coming so close to freeing her, only to have her snatched away yet again. "They can't just let her go!" 

"We'll get her back," Billy glanced up at the sky. "We have to." 

"I hope so," Azure sighed. Tommy nodded. 

"Let's hope we can," he said. "I don't think they're using spells this time!" 

Kat nodded. "They're twisting her memories." 

Aisha wondered, "Do you think we should still try and get her from there now, or wait?" 

"We have to get her back," Billy said firmly. "Before they show her some stuff from her being under their control! If they show her too much of that, we could lose her forever!" * * * 

"I can remember loving him, Father!" Aura screamed; she was most annoyed at having been taken away. She knew she'd went down there to tell the Rangers she didn't want to be one of them anymore, but that kiss had awakened memories she hadn't even dreamed existed. Needless to say, Rita and Zedd were not happy over this. 

"An illusion!" Zedd snapped at her; he knew it had been a mistake to let her go to Earth with only Rito for supervision! If this kept up, if her memories kept returning, soon she'd recall _everything_ and they would lose their new pet Ranger all over again! 

"Prove it!" she retorted; she wanted evidence to match the fire Billy's kiss had lit in her soul. She could feel her mind racing to call up more memories, things that kiss were linked to, and the blank slate her mind had become was already beginning to fill up. 

Zedd raised his staff and created yet another viewport to the past, showing Billy escorting a pretty young lady to a fine restaurant. His lips twisted into what might have been mistaken for a smile, Zedd told her, "This happened last night, before you lost your memory! This from the man who supposedly loves you!" 

Aura growled in pure rage at this. "I should have never went! I was starting to like them again!" Oh, this Billy would pay for tampering with her heart! She looked at her father. "Father, can you help me remember anything else? Anything at all?" 

"Yes. We've tried before to convince you to leave them, but you have always returned to them, not knowing their true nature until now. See your finest moments, my daughter!" 

Zedd raised the staff one more time, this time showing her how she'd almost throttled Billy, and how she'd used Adam as a hostage to get the other Rangers prisoner. Naturally, though Aura didn't know it, what he showed her had been heavily edited to avoid stirring up the real memories those scenes were connected to. 

"How dare they try to make me like them!" Zedd actually found himself pitying the Rangers should he send her back down again! But he had one last trump card to play, one that set her in stone against them for all time. 

"I told you our homeworld was destroyed," he reminded her. "_They_ were the ones who did it! Observe!" 

He showed her the destruction of Kalakan, and was pleased to see hate fill her eyes and twist her face almost into a true semblance of Rita's. "How could they have done all that? Someone has to make them pay for it!" she paced up and down the throne room, unable to stand still for a moment. 

"The Rangers must be destroyed!" he encouraged the growth of the evil thoughts within her. At this rate, it wouldn't take long for her to charge off after the Rangers! She stopped and looked at him. 

"Father, let me do it!" 

_Yes!! She's one of us, even if she doesn't realize it yet! _"Yes! Exact your revenge!" he almost purred the words out. She'd willingly chosen to go destroy the Rangers! 

"I'll teach them to lie to me!" she spat in disgust. "No one does that to the daughter of Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa and lives!" 

"Rito, go with your niece to Earth, and make sure nothing happens to her!" Zedd commanded. "And this time, don't let that blasted boy kiss her!" * * * 

Billy slammed his fist into the console as the results from the last set of scans came in. They'd tried to teleport to the moon once Rito and Aura had left, only to find they were somehow blocked from it. Returning to the Command Center in a flash, Billy had found Rita and Zedd had placed a teleportation barrier around the palace. 

"Can you break trough their block, Billy?" Tommy asked. Billy shrugged. 

"I'm doing my best, but I'm not sure," Azure joined in as Billy and Adam started yet another series of scans, hoping to find some way to shatter the barrier, so they could get in and get Aura out of there. 

The alarms flashed a few moments later, and Billy glanced at the viewing globe. "Aura," he said. 

"And she does not look happy," Adam observed, watching as she stormed up and down the park, screaming for the Rangers to come out and fight. She wasn't morphed, and they could plainly see the rage in her eyes. Tommy shivered; they all knew how strong Aura was, and she wasn't going to hold anything back when she fought them. 

"Let's go see if we can get her and her memories back," he said, reaching for his helmet. "Back to action!" 

The minute they were solid after teleporting to the park, the first thing they heard was Aura's screeching of "Liars! Deceivers!" and that was the least of what she insulted them with. She ran towards them, launching a kick at Adam, who just barely managed to get out of the way. 

"What did they show you this time?" he wondered. Aura whirled on Billy, hate blazing from her gray eyes. 

"You! With another woman! So much for you loving me! And all of you! Destroying our homeworld!" 

"Another woman?" Billy had no idea what in the world Aura was talking about this time! But when she described her, his jaw dropped. 

"Laura? My ex-girlfriend!" he'd dated and broken up with Laura two months before Aura had even moved back to town! 

"I'm not going to listen to your lies anymore!" Aura plowed full strength into them, she'd had more than enough of hearing them say one thing, then being shown something else all together by her father, she was going to stop this once and for all, by getting rid of these vile creatures forever! 

"All right!" Rito congratulated her. He came over to pat her on the shoulder, but tripped over his own feet as he did so! He fell against Aura, knocking her down and hard against the ground. "Oops!" he stared down at her, she looked around, confusion reigning in her eyes and face instead of the raw hatred that had been there only moments before. 

Adam and Billy stared at her, then chorused, "Aura?" 

"What?" she glared at them, and Billy wasn't sure to feel elation or fear when he recognized her 'my head hurts, leave me alone' tone. He hadn't heard it in almost a year, but he knew it. . .and he knew what that could mean. 

Rito thought, a rarity for him. _Better get her back to the palace, Rita and Ed are gonna kill me. . . again. . . if she's messed up somehow!_

He went over and grabbed her, she was too confused to protest it seemed. "Time to go, niece!" With a flash of black light, they were once more on their way back to the moon, to the protesting sounds of Billy screaming denial once again. * * * 

Rito and Aura appeared back in the Lunar Palace, and Rito unceremoniously dropped her to the floor. She shook her head, her thoughts in turmoil and her head reeling from the blow she'd taken. Rita rustled over to her, attempting to be motherly and concerned. 

"The Rangers. . .did they hurt my daughter?" 

_What the. . .what have I. . .oh, NO!!!!!_ Aura's confusion vanished as her head cleared. She stepped away from Rita. "I'm not your daughter!" 

Rita looked at Zedd worriedly. "Uh-oh." 

"I remember. . .I remember everything!" Aura felt absolutely sick as she remembered what had happened over the past day. What made things worse for her was how easily she'd believed their lies! 

"Tengas!" Zedd roared, rising to his feet. "Take her to the Dark Dimension!" 

The Tengas appeared, flocking towards Aura, who had no intentions of going peacefully! "Not likely!" she was about to ninja-morph to kick Tenga tailfeather when muscular armored arms grabbed her from behind. She struggled vainly in Goldar's grip as he hissed in her ear. 

"You are going!" he dragged her away to the hideous Dark Dimension, having to fight her every step of the way. Rita turned to Zedd, who was furious over this loss. 

"At least we still have prisoner, even if she does have her memories back!" 

"Yes," Zedd nodded. "And she'll pay at last for everything she's done with her _life!_" * * * 

Azure was staring wide-eyed at the viewing globe when they arrived back. Billy was already racing towards the computers, trying to find Aura yet again. "She's in trouble," Azure said, her eyes fixed on the globe. 

"No kidding," Aisha muttered. Azure had watched the fight on the globe, and she'd recognized the look on Aura's face, and the tone in her voice. She'd known at that moment Aura had regained her memories. Azure barely managed to keep her trembling in check; she had no idea of what Rita, Zedd, Eric, Goldar, and all the rest of that insane crew up there might do to her now that she no longer believed the lies she'd been spoon-fed. 

"Hurry, Billy, find her," she whispered. "Bring my sister home." * * * 

Aura paced up and down the cell she'd been thrown into when they'd reached this Dark Dimension. _At least I've got my memory back; that's one comfort. If I die, it'll be as me, not as some toy Rita and Zedd tried to mold in their own image. I know I couldn't help it, but having to relive all those things I did to the others. . .I feel sick and dirty. And I actually accused Billy of not loving me. How could I have been such a fool? I hope they're all right; I hope they can find me!_

"Awwww," Goldar's snide voice came from outside the cell. "The little Ranger wanting to see her friends again? It'll never happen!" 

Aura glared at him. "You get uglier every time I look at you, you know that?" 

"Insults will only get you killed!" he warned her. He looked quite ready to do her in on the spot, as well. He'd wanted this chance at her for a year now. 

"It's not an insult when it's the truth! And I don't expect to live much longer if I'm stuck here, anyway!" _Which I hopefully won't be. Billy better be breaking his skull open trying to get me out of here! But if I do go down, it's going to be in a clean fight!_ "And I might as well have some fun insulting you while I'm here!" 

Goldar unlocked the cell and gestured her out into the open area outside of it. "Shall we end this now?" 

"Sounds good to me!" Aura snarled, leaping towards him in a two-handed technique that Billy had drilled into her. She quite literally entered not just the fight of her life. . .but a fight for her life. * * * 

Azure, Adam, and Billy hadn't stopped scanning for one moment since their return to the Command Center. Billy's nerves were shot, he didn't know what they would do if they couldn't get her out of there. Suddenly, one of the computers began to beep. He looked quickly at the readout, and smiled. 

"I got her!" he yelled, with a "Where is she?" coming from everyone else in the Command Center. He examined the data and groaned. This wasn't' going to be easy. 

"Zedd put her in his Dark Dimension; he must know she has her memories back!" Azure had told them of her suspicions once they'd started the scans for her. Aura's younger sister took a deep breath. 

"How do we get her out?" 

Tommy shivered as he recalled all the times he'd visited that place, all of them unwillingly. "Billy has a way." 

The Blue Ranger nodded. "Let's get to my lab and get them, then get her out of there!" 

In less than ten minutes, they were setting up the device Billy had made months before to get Tommy out of the Dark Dimension once. Azure asked, "How exactly is this thing of yours going to get Aura out?" 

"It creates a 'back door' of sorts to the Dark Dimension; we can get in, get her, and get out in minutes," Billy explained to her. Adam looked over at him as the final adjustments were made. 

"You sure you want to do this alone?" he asked. Billy nodded. 

"If Zedd tries anything while I'm gone, you guys are gonna be needed here." 

Azure suggested, "Wont' you need the whole team, even if it is minus Aura, to stop them?" 

Billy almost glared at her. "Don't tell me, let me guess, you want to go, right?" 

Adam grabbed her arm, making sure not to be too harsh about it. "Get that idea out of your head!" There was no way he was letting her go anywhere near Eric or anywhere the scum might be. Azure looked down; she hadn't thought of how strongly Adam would object. 

"OK, it's out," she sighed. Billy smiled, and touched her gently on the shoulder. 

"I'll be going in and coming out as fast as I can, Azure. If there is trouble, Aura and I will be there as soon as we can." 

Azure smiled a little. "Good luck," she watched as Billy activated the portal, then went through it. As he emerged on the other side, he saw Aura and Goldar, fighting. She was unmorphed, he had his sword, and she was doing one excellent job of kicking him all over the Dark Dimension. 

"Aura!" he called out her name. She ran straight to him, avoiding Goldar agilely as he attempted to hit her from behind. He put an arm around her, then glared at Goldar. "You've got two Rangers to contend with now, Goldar!" 

"Glad to have the help!" Aura smiled. 

"Anytime! After all, what else are fianc&233s for?" 

"For love!" she gave him a kiss on the cheek. Goldar roared and charged towards them. 

"You will never escape, Rangers!" Billy was puling her towards the portal even as he moved towards them. Aura paused for a moment, and looked back at Goldar. 

"Funny, I think we're about to!" they jumped through the portal, which was preset to close as soon as they landed on the other side. 

"Aura!" Azure raced over to her sister and hugged her. Aura smiled as she returned the tight embrace. 

"Hey, kid," she ruffled Azure's hair lovingly. "I missed you, even when I didn't remember you!" 

Azure giggled. "I knew it! You got your memories back when Rito knocked you down, didn't you?" 

Aura nodded. "I was still a little dazed, then, though," she told them. "That's why I didn't say anything right away." 

"It's good to have you back with us, memories and everything!" 

Aura kissed Billy, much more seriously this time. Azure chuckled. "Hey, don't you two have a wedding to plan? One that's coming up in just a couple of weeks?" 

Her sister nodded. "Yeah," she kissed Billy yet again. "Even when I forgot you, Billy, I still loved you. I just couldn't remember it." 

"Hey, remember what I told you?" he smiled. "We'll always love you. I'll always love you. No matter what." 

Aura looked around at her friends, and could feel their love pulsing in her heart. "I know. I love you all. Forever." 

"Come on, we've got a wedding to get ready for!" Tommy really hated to break up this romantic moment, but two weeks wasn't really that much time to plan a wedding, and they all had things they needed to do. Laughing and talking, the Power Rangers dismantled the portal and headed home. 

**The End**


	16. Married Amber

**Married Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

The day before the summer solstice, the day before Aura Robinson and Billy Cranston were to be married, dawned as bright and beautiful as everyone hoped the next day would. Jessica Robinson and Aura were putting the finishing touches on Aura's wedding gown. 

"It's so beautiful!" Jessica smiled as she looked at her daughter. She'd always hoped Aura would be happy on her wedding day, but she couldn't believe the joy that pulsed with her alien daughter. 

"I'm so happy!" Aura smiled. "I can't believe this is actually happening!" 

Azure entered the room just then, the day's mail in her hand. "I'm glad you found happiness!" she told her sister. 

"What have you got there, Azure?" 

"Bills, junk mail, letter from Grandma, not much." 

"What does Grandma have to say?" Aura wondered. Azure skimmed through the letter quickly, then replied, "She's fine, she'll be down with Uncle Harold tomorrow morning...can't wait to see everyone." 

Aura nodded. "That's good," Azure was about to head upstairs, when Mrs. Robinson stopped her. 

"You need to get fitted for your maid of honor gown, Azure," she told her. "This is the last chance we have for any changes; why did you two want to get married so fast anyway? Anything you want to tell us, Aura?" 

At the look her mother turned on her, Aura blushed a bright red and shook her head. She'd never told her parents, or anyone else, what her evil half and Billy had done in that minor dimension, and she was fairly certain he'd never told anyone else either. That was between the two of them! 

"I'm glad Mother can make it," Aura smiled, avoiding her mom's question. Her half-brother was going to be the ring-bearer, while Shaya and David would be among the witnesses. Azure smiled and nodded. 

"So am I," she told her sister. Absolutely nothing was going to interfere in this wedding. * * * 

"This is disgusting!" Rita glared through her RepulsaScope at the wedding preparations going on. Zedd looked over; he'd been in a foul mood ever since Aura had not only recovered her memory, but had escaped the Dark Dimension afterward. 

"What is it?" 

"Those two Rangers are getting married! And she's got a prettier dress than I did when I married you!" 

Zedd was on his feet and standing by Rita a moment later. "We need to stop their happiness!" 

"Definitely!" Rita agreed. "What sort of monster shall we send this time? It must be our deadliest monster ever!" 

Zedd was deep in thought on just how to do that when Goldar entered. "What is happening on Earth, sires?" 

"That pesky Amber Ranger is getting married to the Blue Ranger!" Rita growled. Goldar slammed his fist into the balcony rim; this was the ultimate outrage! 

"I want to kill that blasted Amber Ranger!" 

Zedd glared down at Earth again. "Their emotions will be their end!" 

"Do you have anything in mind, Zedd?" Rita seriously doubted it; Zedd never had anything that actually worked in mind. 

"Oh, indeed I do!!" Zedd laughed. This was truly going to be a world-class evil plan! * * * 

Aura shivered a bit as she watched everyone rushing around the Robinson house like the proverbial beheaded chicken. Things were just too noisy around here, too many people. 

"What's wrong?" Azure was looking at her. "Cold feet?" 

Aura shook her head. "Never! Just, well, too many people around here! I need some air!" 

Azure smiled. "I'll cover for you, I'll tell anyone who asks that you're having another headache." 

"Those headaches have come in handy more than once," she chuckled; it had been over a year since she'd had one. "I'll be back soon." 

"You'd better be. I don't know how long I can keep Billy from hunting you down!" Azure chuckled as Aura changed into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, then slipped out the backdoor. She'd known Aura wouldn't be able to stand the confusion much longer; she'd always preferred peace and quiet._ I can't believe she and Billy are finally getting married. Rita and Zedd better not do anything to stop this, either!_ * * * 

Aura headed down a back street, wanting to stay away from crowds and people. She took several deep breaths, relaxing herself. The wedding wasn't until the next day, but she was as nervous as if it were about to happen in thirty seconds. 

_Hope Billy isn't as jumpy as I am. I can't believe this is happening; it's almost time for us to get married! I've loved him so long, I can't even remember what it's like not to love him._

"Hello, Amber Ranger!" Goldar, with a whole patrol of Tengas, suddenly stood in front of her. Aura stopped in her tracks; this was the very last thing she needed on the day before her wedding! 

"Goldar, not even you can spoil my mood today, but I'll spoil that ugly face of yours if you don't leave me alone!" Aura growled, her hand sliding into the back pocket she usually kept her morpher in. _This isn't happening! I left it at the house; I must be losing my mind!_

Goldar did something that could have been mistaken for a smile. "You don't want me to do that!" something appeared in his hand and before Aura could move back, something cool and moist was sprayed in her face. 

"Oh, ugh, what is this stuff?" she tried to wipe it off and glared at Goldar. The glare softened as she took in his face, that. . .suddenly handsome face. "Oh, Goldar, I just realized. . .you are a lot better looking than Billy. In fact. . .I think I love you!" 

Goldar held out his hand to her. "Come with me!" Aura took his hand gladly, _this_ was her true love after all. How could she have ever thought otherwise? 

"Whatever you say, dearest!" * * * 

Azure stared out the window, then glanced at her watch. Aura should be back soon; where was she? The wedding rehearsal was in just a few minutes, and she hadn't come back yet. 

"What is it, Azure?" it was Adam, coming up next to her. He sat next to her on the window seat and glanced outside. 

"Nothing," she sighed. She didn't want to let anyone know unless she had to that Aura had went out. Billy poked his head into the room. 

"Hey, where's Aura? We're just about ready for rehearsal," he wanted to know. 

"She said she had a headache; she should be here in a little bit," Azure told them. Billy frowned. 

"Headache?" Even after a year; after knowing the truth, still hearing that word applied to Aura made him nervous. Azure nodded. 

"She's been complaining about her sinuses recently; it's probably just a sinus headache. She headed over to the drugstore for some medicine, she can't find any here," Azure glanced at her parents as they joined the little group. 

"I thought we had some," her mother mused, when her husband shook his head. "We hid it, remember?" a glance at Azure followed; they'd hid all the medicines and pills after her suicide attempt. 

"Sheesh, they still don't trust me!" Azure muttered. It had been months since her attempt, and she'd determined since then nothing, not even Eric, would keep her from living the life she loved with the man she loved. 

"She'd better be back soon," Kat grinned. "I don't think she wants to be late to her own wedding. ..even if it is just a rehearsal!" 

The sound of their communicators going off broke into the conversation. They all cast worried glances at each other. "Man," Adam muttered. Billy tapped his communicator. 

"Great. What is it, Zordon?" 

RANGERS, REPORT TO THE COMMAND CENTER. AURA IS IN GRAVE DANGER. Zordon told them. Billy muttered a few vile things that ended with, "Can't they ever leave us alone?" 

"It's the law of the bad guys, the good guys can never have any uninterrupted fun," Adam said dryly. Billy almost glared at his best friend. 

"Not even for a wedding?" the Rangers, Azure in tow, teleported to the Command Center. As they became solid, the only thing Billy wanted to know was, "What happened?" 

"Look at the viewing globe, Rangers!" Alpha urged them. The little robot gestured towards the crystal, which reflected the events that occurred on Aura's walk. As the Rangers saw Aura's eyes fill with love as she looked at Goldar, each and every one of them said the exact same thing. 

"I think I'm going to be sick!" 

Azure stared, this nauseated her almost as much as when she'd been under the spell that forced her to love Eric. "I don't believe this!" she whispered. Billy looked as if he were about to be violently sick, and no one there blamed him. Adam put a comforting arm on Azure's shoulder. 

"We'll get her back. We'd better, because that is too gross for words!" the Black Ranger looked at the viewing globe, and it was all he could do not to be sick himself. 

"I know there's an antidote to that love potion," Tommy remembered how not too long before the Robinsons' had returned, Rita and Zedd's Cupid Monster had made a mess of the romantic lives at Angel Grove. "But they've got it and we don't!" 

Azure turned away from the globe, she couldn't look any longer. "Do you think we can get her back before the wedding tomorrow?" 

"They're doing this just to ruin the wedding," Kat declared. This showed every sign of becoming a major disaster if they couldn't get Aura back and out of that love potion's control in time. * * * 

Aura stared adoringly at Goldar, not even noticing she was once more in the Lunar Palace. Only her love mattered. She didn't even hear Zedd's gloating. "This is perfect! We now have the Amber Ranger under our control: under the control of love!" 

Zedd stared for several long minutes, watching as Aura completely ignored the fact she was quite literally a prisoner of love, staring only at Goldar. He'd never seen someone in love up this close before, and it intrigued. . .and repulsed him at the same time. Something about the way Aura looked at Goldar was attempting to bring back a long-buried memory. _What is it about her like this that seems so familiar? Like I've seen her staring at. .. someone. . .like this before. .. ah, bah, what does it matter, she's so caught up in this love spell, she'd destroy the Rangers in a moment if Goldar wanted her to. And Goldar does want her to: because I want her to!_

He glanced at Rita; now there was a true beauty! "What do you say we make the Rangers _really_ sick. We send down Goldar and Aura, to show them exactly how much in love they really are!" 

"Wonderful, Zeddy! Let them know there is nothing they can do to prevent the wedding of Goldar and Aura!" Rita laughed. Goldar looked over at her, shocked, he'd only agreed to this because Lord Zedd had commanded it; but he had no intentions of actually _marrying_ the Amber Ranger! He hated her with a passion so intense it was almost holy, and instead of mindlessly mooning over her, as she was over him, he was thinking of ways to smash her skull into several different pieces. 

Goldar was about to protest, when Zedd rose and gave his orders. "Goldar, Aura, it is time to announce your engagement! Let the Rangers know how much you two love each other!" 

Goldar's protests stopped on his lips. If Zedd commanded it, he obeyed, that was all there was to it. He didn't like it, though. Aura's reaction was somewhat different. 

"Engagement? Oh, yes! This is going to be wonderful, Goldar!" * * * 

The alarms went off in the Command Center not long after the Rangers began their search for an antidote. Billy glanced at the viewing globe, and it nearly turned his stomach to see Aura standing so close to Goldar, with that look on her face she'd only ever turned to him before. All he could say was, "They're on Earth." 

"Maybe it's worn off, or can be overridden somehow," Adam suggested. "Let's go find out." 

When they arrived at the park, Billy stepped involuntarily towards Aura. She glared at him so viscously that he actually backed away. "I'm sorry. . .well. . .actually, I'm not sorry. The engagement's off, Blue Ranger. At least mine to you is." 

Billy's eyes went absolutely wide, as all the color drained out of his face. "What?" he stammered. Aura took Goldar's hand, then did something that made everyone there stare at her as if she'd lost her mind. 

She kissed Goldar on the lips. 

"I'm going to marry Goldar," she told him. Azure, who had come with the Rangers since this wasn't a fight, turned four shades of green. Adam looked as if he were about to faint, anyone looking at Rocky would have sworn he was about to throw up, and Kat _did_ throw up: on Goldar! 

When that happened, Kat found herself flying back several feet, courtesy of a powerful punch from Aura. "Don't you treat my fiancée like that! That was _rude!_" 

"Aura, what's gotten into you!" Tommy stared at the Amber Ranger; in all the time since he'd known her, he'd never seen Aura look at Goldar with anything but unabashed hatred. "A couple of hours ago, you hated this guy, and he hated you!" 

Aura smiled a little. "I just learned better, that's all!" 

What happened next startled and sickened them all. Goldar dropped to one knee and took Aura's hand in his. "Aura. . ." it was the first time he'd ever called her by her unadorned name; usually he insulted her! 

"Marry me!" 

Aura smiled and laughed. "Yes, Goldar, yes!" The 'romance' of the moment was somewhat spoiled when Kat, Tommy, Rocky, Adam, and Aisha threw up, Billy fainted, and Azure was staring helplessly at her sister. 

"Aura, no, please!" she whispered. This was beyond her worst nightmare! 

"I'm sorry, Azure, but I found the monster of my dreams!" Aura told her sister. Azure stared for a moment, then turned and ran, tears streaming down her cheeks. Adam, recovering from his bout of nausea, glared at Aura. 

"I can't believe you just did that!" he ran after his retreating girlfriend. Aura shrugged and glanced at Goldar. 

"Let's leave them here, dear. We have our wedding to plan!" 

"Yes, my love!" Goldar took them back up to the moon, thinking as he did so,_ I hope Lord Zedd lets me kill her soon; I can't take much more of this!_ * * * 

"I can't believe this is happening!" that was the absolute understatement of the eon, as far as the Rangers were concerned. Billy was sitting on the floor, muttering the single syllable of 'no' over and over again. Kat was trying to get him to snap out of it, but so far had been unsuccessful. 

"It's just a spell," she told him. "We'll get her back in time for the wedding." 

"And if we can't?" Billy whispered dully. All the life seemed to have gone out of him since seeing Aura kiss Goldar. 

Tommy put a hand on Billy's shoulder. "We will," he promised. Aisha nodded. 

"We have to. I don't want to think about what will happen if we don't!" the Yellow Ranger looked a bit sick as the memory of what had just happened flickered through her mind. 

Just then, Azure and Adam returned to the Command Center; he'd been trying to calm her down ever since she'd ran away from the park, in tears over what Aura was doing. Adam glanced at the others. "We've got to get that antidote!" 

Billy stared at the other Rangers. "They won't let me go in and get it! I found a way past their forcefield, and they won't let me go alone!" 

"I don't blame them!" Adam told him. "You're in no condition to go there by yourself. I'm going with you." 

Billy was on his feet in a moment. "Then let's go. I am not letting Aura marry Goldar, no matter what!" 

"I'm not sure about this!" Tommy tried to be the voice of reason here, for a change. Billy glared at him viscously. 

"What if it were Kim, Tommy? How fast would _you_ be getting to the moon!? 

Tommy's lips tightened; he knew exactly how fast he'd be going up there. "You're right. Be careful, and you'd better come back!" 

Billy nodded. "We will. We _all_ will, because I'm not coming back without Aura." 

He and Adam morphed and teleported at once, wanting to waste no further time. Billy had programmed the teleport to land them straight in Finster's lab; everyone was gathered in the throne room for the upcoming ceremony and it was empty. Adam glanced around. "It's got to be here somewhere." 

Billy examined several bottles unsuccessfully. "We've got to find it, I'm not leaving here without her!" 

Adam pushed around a few things, then smiled. "Talk about easy!" he chuckled as he picked up a bottle labeled clearly 'love potion antidote'. Billy smiled when he saw it. "Come on, Adam, we've got a wedding to interrupt!" * * * 

Things were proceeding more or less according to plan in the throne room. It was almost a repeat of the wedding of Rita and Zedd, except this time, Zedd was going to be performing the ceremony, while Rito would be the worst man, Scorpina would be maid of dishonor, and Rita escorted Aura. 

"I never thought I'd be happy to see the Amber Ranger get married!" Zedd's evil queen gloated. The way the love potion worked, once Aura and Goldar were officially married, it would be sealed for all time. 

Scorpina was glaring at Aura, who was happily preparing for the wedding. "I can't believe Goldar is marrying a Ranger!" 

Rita nodded. "And it's all due to the love potion!" Scorpina glanced a trifle worriedly at Rita. 

"This isn't the same one you used on that brat sister of hers, is it?" 

Rita shook her head. "No, that was a love spell. This love potion is _much_ stronger, and almost permanent. Why?" 

"Just curious. The one you used on the brat didn't hold very long. I just hope this one doesn't fail," Scorpina kept her real feelings hidden. She'd cared about Goldar almost from the moment she'd seen him, and couldn't bear the thought of someone else, especially a Power Ranger, marrying him. 

The ceremony began a few minutes later, as Goldar and Aura took their places before Zedd. The lord of evil looked around, something that might have been a smile on his lips. "If there is _anyone_ present who thinks this union should not take place, speak now or forever hold your peace." 

"That's our cue," Adam, standing just out of sight with Billy, whispered. Billy nodded and jumped out into full view. 

"We object!" he ran straight for Aura, who turned angrily around. 

"How dare you!" she snarled. Adam tossed Billy the antidote, then told his friend, "Easy, we don't think it should take place, and we think you'll agree with us!" 

Billy nodded, then sprayed the antidote to the love potion full into Aura's face. "Aura?" he said, hope filling his heart as she closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to clear the spray from her face. 

The bouquet dropped from Aura's hands and she stammered, "Billy?" she looked around, and when she saw Goldar, her first and most instinctive reaction was one Billy boasted of seeing for the rest of his life. 

She knocked him flat with one punch. 

Billy chuckled. "Let's get out of here," he told her. "We've only got an hour left until _our_ wedding!" 

Aura smiled; having the love potion lifted from her had restored her entirely back to her true self. "And that's a wedding I want to attend!" * * * 

"You got her back!" Azure was smiling as Aura, Adam, and Billy appeared in the Command Center. She grinned at Billy. "Billy, close your eyes! Don't you know it's bad luck to see your bride on your wedding day?" 

Aura chuckled. "There's no greater luck I could have had than to have seen him today!" Aura suddenly realized everything that had happened over the past day, and her stomach revolted. She'd kissed Goldar, she'd been in love with Goldar, she'd almost married him! Before anything or anyone could stop her, everything she'd eaten for the past few days came out to splatter all over the Command Center floor. 

Alpha rushed at once with a mop. "Ay-yi-yi, time to clean this place! You guys better go get ready for the wedding!" 

Aura leaned back, a bit weak from the regurgitation. "Sorry about that, Alpha, Zordon. It just hit me exactly what went on with Goldar," she shivered visibly. "I'm glad you guys got that antidote to me. I heard Rita say something about how once I married Goldar, the love potion would be _permanent._" 

"It didn't happen," Billy enfolded her in his arms. "And it won't." 

"We're going to be together, forever," Aura smiled at him. "I love you, Billy. And will forever." * * * 

"I hate dresses, I really do!" Azure complained a few minutes later as she and Aura got into their gowns. She glanced at her sister. "You okay?" 

Aura nodded. "I'm feeling a lot better now that I'm marrying the right guy!" 

"I think we all are!" Kat nodded. Aura shivered a little. 

"I can't believe they even tried that, that was the most sickening thing they've ever done!" the door opened just then and Samuel walked in, smiling. 

"Looks like the ring-bearer is here," Azure grinned. Aura waved at her brother. 

"Hey, there, little brother," she told him. Sam gave her a quick hug, making sure not to mess up her hair or gown or make-up, then smiled at her in his own turn. 

"Glad you guys asked me to do this!" he said. 

"I'm glad that you, Mother, and David could make it!" 

Azure nodded. "I'm glad that everything is back to normal," she said. "You're not going to get sick again, are you?" 

Aura shook her head. "No, that was just a reaction what happened earlier."_ I'm not going to tell her I've been getting sick every morning for about a week now. It's probably just nerves from the wedding being so close. I'll calm down after everything's over with._

"Everyone's ready!" Sam told them. "Is it time yet?" 

"Almost," Aura sighed. "Come on, Azure. We've got to get into place, the guys should be ready soon." * * * 

"You look nervous, really nervous!" Adam looked at Billy's shaking hands. Billy nodded. 

"I _am_ incredibly nervous!" Billy told him. Adam tried to reassure him. 

"You'll be fine." 

"I hope so," Billy glanced at a picture of Aura he'd brought with him. "Today's kind of like a dream. A dream come true." 

Adam smiled. "I'm happy for you, Billy." 

"I'm glad," Billy chuckled. "Do you know, I wanted to marry Aura from the first moment I laid eyes on her? When I was three?" 

"A romantic back then, huh?" 

Billy blushed. "Well, a little!" 

"Unless you guys want to have the service performed from here, I'd suggest you come on," Tommy came in and told them. The ceremony was going to be held in the park, site of so much romance and so many battles for them. In fact, it would be held under the very tree where just a month earlier, Billy had proposed to Aura. 

"OK, let's go," Billy got up. "Time to get married." * * * 

As Aura came up the aisle, her gaze flickered off Billy for a moment to notice who was getting ready to perform the ceremony. She smiled; only she would really recognize who stood there. Everyone else saw the justice of the peace that had agreed to do it. 

"Thank you," she whispered to the Spirit of Earth. "I'm glad you could do this." 

"It is my pleasure, Aura. Now, it is time," Aura smiled as she turned to Billy. The ceremony was going to be a simple one, no long drawn out declarations of love, both of them knew how much they loved each other, and saw no need to flaunt it to the world beyond their union. 

"Today we celebrate a momentous occasion," the Spirit began. "May you both be blessed from this day forward with all the joy and love that marriage brings. William Cranston, do you take Aura to be your lawfully wedded wife?" 

"I do," Billy said softly, his love filling his eyes and heart for her. Aura smiled at him; there was no one in all the universe she'd rather be with for her life than him. 

"Do you, Aura Robinson, take William to be your lawfully wedded husband?" 

"I definitely do!" Aura nodded. She was fully intent on morphing, no matter who saw her, if any of Rita or Zedd's minions tried to interrupt this moment. 

"If there is anyone here who does not believe their marriage should take place, speak now or forever hold your peace." 

Every Power Ranger there looked around, just to be sure. Everyone of them expected Tengas and monsters. Instead, silence met their gaze. The Spirit smiled. 

"Then by the powers invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may kiss the bride!" 

As they kissed for the first time as a married couple, everyone broke into spontaneous cheers. The Spirit chuckled; she had known this day would come since she'd first accepted Aura's oath. "Ladies and gentlemen, may I be the first to introduce Mr. and Mrs. William Cranston." 

The cheers just grew louder. * * * 

"I can't believe this is happening!" Zedd roared as he watched the wedding proceed on schedule below. Zordon had managed to generate a jamming signal that prevented him from teleporting any of his troops down to disrupt the festivities, the only consolation was, he couldn't keep it up forever. "I just hope they don't have any kids!" 

"Why not, dad?" Eric wondered. He'd rather enjoyed the wedding, fantasizing it was Azure and himself getting married. _One day, she'll be mine, forever._

"Because their firstborn will also hold the Amber Ranger powers; they're passed down from generation to generation!" Zedd roared. 

"Oh," Eric shrugged. "Maybe since Aura's not a human, they can't have kids?"_ That would be good; last thing we need is another Amber Ranger around causing trouble._

"I hope you're right!" Zedd agreed. "But then again, look at me and your mother!" 

_I'd rather not, dad, you're a great and evil guy, but frankly, looking at you makes me glad I take after mom!_ "True," Eric admitted. He returned his gaze to the wedding, which had now swung into the reception phase. He kept an eye on Azure, watching her dance with Adam, and his hands curled into fists. _Someday soon, Azure, that'll be me and you. _* * * 

Billy came over to where Aura and Azure were talking. "It's time to throw the bouquet and the garter, Aura!" Aura smiled, as all the single women began to gather together. 

"Is everyone ready?" she asked, receiving lots of nods in agreement. She chuckled, turned around, closed her eyes, and threw it in one easy motion. The bouquet almost seemed to head straight for Azure's whose hands closed around it automatically. Aura turned to see who had caught it, and smiled. 

"Congratulations, Azure!" she told her sister as she flashed a grin at Adam. "You're the next to get married!" Adam blushed as red as possible as Billy prepared to throw the garter, and it got even worse when Jason whispered in his ear, "Hey, that's Rocky's color, Adam!" 

A few moments later, they all had something to laugh over, as the garter landed directly in Adam's hand! Everyone cracked up; there was simply no other way to respond to the look on the Black Ranger's face. He and Azure looked at each other; then both of them turned cherry red. 

Aura was smiling at them, when she suddenly ran straight for the nearest bathroom. Azure followed, in time to hear Aura vomiting. 

"Aura? You okay?" 

Aura managed to spare the time to say, "Yeah, I'm fine." 

"I don't believe you," Azure shook her head as Aura came out of the bathroom. "If you were okay, why are you vomiting like that?" 

"I don't know," Aura sighed. "But I think I had better find out!"_ This could be serious, I'm making a doctor's appointment in the morning. Good thing Billy and I are going to spend our honeymoon at the Heart of the Earth, nothing can happen there with us and the Spirit on guard. But I intend to enjoy my honeymoon, no matter what!_

"Not the best of times to get sick," Azure smiled as she handed her sister a towel. Aura wiped herself clean, then sighed. 

"Thanks," they headed back to the festivities, each of them gravitating towards their respective guy. Things were more than at peace in this moment. Everything was perfect. Everything was calm. 

It wouldn't stay that way. 

**The End**


	17. Young Amber

**Young Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

It had been nearly a month since Billy and Aura had gotten married. Billy was going to college at Angel Grove University, while Aura had started to make a career out of the one thing she truly was gifted at, other than being a professional world-saver. She was an artist, and her portraits were already starting to bring in some money. 

As she worked one afternoon on a still life, the phone rang. Aura bit her lip as she went to answer it; she hoped it was who she thought it was going to be. "Hello?" 

"Is Mrs. Cranston there?" Aura smiled as she heard the voice on the other end. 

"This is me," she said. 

"This is Doctor Davidson," he told her. "I just got your test results in." 

Aura's heartrate skyrocketed. Could it be? She turned to notice Billy standing near her; he'd obviously gotten home early today. She smiled and stepped a bit away, wanting this to be just her little secret, if she were right. "And?" she barely managed to keep her excitement in check. 

"It's official. You're pregnant!" 

"Wow!" Aura smiled; this was incredible! _Looks like I've got something to thank my evil half for after all!_ "You're serious?" 

"I am," Dr. Davidson told her. "We need to make your first appointment. I want to get an ultrasound done, and I've got an opening in an hour. Do you think you can make it?" 

"Sure, I'll be there!" Aura laughed; this was one of the happiest days of her life! Even learning about her heritage didn't compare to this day! 

"I'll see you then. Bye," the doctor hung up, as did Aura, but he most certainly did not do what her next move was. Her ringing cry of triumph filled their small apartment. 

"What is it?" Billy asked as he came in. Aura turned, giggling to him. He'd never seen her this happy, not really. 

"Guess what!" 

"Whatever it is, it must be good news," he eyed her a touch suspiciously; it wasn't like her to hide something from him, even for a moment. "Did Adam propose to Azure?" 

Aura shook her head, a smile teasing her lips. "You remember how my Amber Ranger powers are passed down from firstborn to firstborn?" 

Billy frowned for a moment. "Yeah," suddenly just what she meant by that clicked in his mind. "You're pregnant?!" 

Aura nodded, her smile coming full out now. Billy picked her up and spun her around in a wild hug, laughing with joy. "This is great!" Aura felt her stomach revolting against the sudden movement. 

"Careful, Billy, I don't wanna. . . ohhhh. .. ," Billy quickly regretted swinging her around like that, as Aura cleaned up the mess resulting. She glanced up at him. "I'm going in for an ultrasound in about an hour. I wonder if it's a boy or a girl." 

Billy smiled. "I don't care which we have, just as long as it's healthy and it has your eyes!" 

Aura giggled, then suddenly went serious. "Billy, I'm not human. You are. I just hope this child can exist in the first place." 

Billy nodded, suddenly remembering just _what_ his wife was, other than the Amber Ranger. "I hope so too. Maybe we should talk to Zordon about this after your appointment." 

Aura nodded, her fingers protectively spread over her stomach. _I can't believe I'm pregnant. But I just hope this child can live. I love you, Billy, and I want you and I to have a long life together, with many children._ * * * 

Billy and Aura watched a little nervously as the doctor performed the ultrasound. "You want a picture of your child?" the doctor asked. "Wait a second." 

"What is it?" Aura asked, clutching at Billy's hand nervously. She knew she wouldn't be able to explain any of the differences that could show up on a genetic test of her; she and her mother were the only two Kalakans left in the universe. From what Shaya had told her, humans and Kalakans were almost perfectly genetically identical, but there were differences. 

Dr. Davidson moved the device a little, and smiled. "Or should I say, a picture of your twins? 

"What?" Aura stared at him; she couldn't have heard that right! 

The doctor smiled. "There are two of them in there!" Billy smiled and touched her hand gently. 

"Twins," they chorused. "We're going to have twins." 

The doctor checked a couple of other things. "We really need to move on making sure everything is in order. You're about three months along, but they seem to be developing fairly quickly. That's a bit unusual, but nothing to worry about, some children are just faster than others in everything." 

Aura's mind flashed back to what was happening three months earlier, and she blushed a deep cherry red. "Ummm. . .Billy, do you remember what was happening three months ago?" 

"You were. .. ," Billy almost said what had happened, til he remembered the doctor was there. "Yeah, I remember. I wonder what your parents will say to this." 

Aura shook her head. "I don't know," she smiled a little. "Let's go find out." 

The doctor quickly printed out a picture of the ultrasound results. "Show them this; it might make them react a little better to the news." * * * 

"I don't believe this!" Zedd stared down at Earth, watching as Aura and Billy learned of the coming of their twins. He knew precisely what had happened three months earlier: the time when Aura had been split into her good and evil halves, and had entertained herself with Billy. It looked as if that little episode was having quite unforeseen and most definitely _unwanted_ repercussions. 

"What is it, Zedd?" Rita asked; he almost glared at her, the split had been the result of one of her botched spells; these twins wouldn't even exist if it weren't for her incompetence! 

"Those blasted Rangers, the Blue and Amber ones, are going to be having twins!" 

Rita screeched in outrage, "No! How dare they even have _children!_" 

Zedd calmed her quickly. "No need to fear. You'll never believe what I just found, Rita." 

"What is it?" his wife looked at him eagerly. "Some way to get rid of those brats before they're even born?" 

Zedd nodded, chuckling under his breath. "And the Rangers. You've heard of the legendary Fountain of Youth?" 

"Of course!" Rita looked at him curiously. "But that's just some old Earth legend, isn't it?" 

Zedd laughed wickedly. "I just found it." * * * 

Aura and Billy glanced at each other as they caught Azure and Adam kissing on the front porch of the Robinsons' house. Aura smiled, then cleared her throat noisily. Her sister's eyes flicked up at her, then she broke off the kiss. 

"Not again!" she complained. Aura chuckled. 

"Sorry, but if you don't want to hear our news, we can go away again, can't we, Billy?" 

Adam glanced up. "What news?" Azure perked up at the thought of what that could be. "Is this something mom and dad are going to want to hear?" 

Aura nodded. "Definitely!" Azure was in the house and back out with them in moments. Everyone looked at her expectantly, and Aura looked back at them. 

"How to say this?" she mused, then grinned. "OK. Amber Ranger is taking maternity leave for a while." 

Azure's eyes went wide. "You're. . . I'm going to be an aunt?" 

Aura chuckled. "No, you're going to be an uncle," she said dryly, eliciting a laugh from Adam. Aura's humor was something else. 

"When are you due?" the Black Ranger asked as he rubbed his shoulder from where Azure hit him. Aura smiled. 

"In about six months," Aura told them, bracing herself for the look her parents gave her. Jessica gave her daughter and son-in-law a serious look. 

"That means the child was conceived out of wedlock." 

Billy nodded, trying to avoid the look Adam was giving him. Aura explained quickly what had happened during the time she had been split into her good and evil halves. Her parents exchanged glances; they knew about her Power Ranger life, and about her being an alien, but this was still somewhat of a shock to them. 

"Uh-huh," her dad said softly. Aura chuckled a little. 

"Dad, I'm an alien, I'm a Power Ranger, and I'm married, even though Billy and I are less than two months out of high school. You can't tell me you expected my life to be anything even vaguely _resembling_ normal! 

Azure chuckled as she looked first at Adam, then Billy. "Why didn't you tell me _that_ part of it?" she hugged her sister then, whispering softly, "So that's why you threw up on your wedding day?" 

Aura nodded, then produced a touch of evidence that this wasn't all some horrible joke. "Oh, we're going to have twins, by the way." 

"Twins? You had your first ultrasound?" Azure grabbed for the picture Aura pulled out of her purse. "Oh, they're cute!" 

Aura chuckled. "I wonder which one will be first out," it was a trifle disconcerting for her to look at the picture, and realize what was shown there was growing within her. _Whichever of you is firstborn will inherit all my powers and my bond with the Earth. That's either the greatest gift or the greatest curse I could give you. I guess that's for you to decide on your own. _

Adam shrugged as he patted Billy on the back. "Congratulations. Do you think we should tell the others about there being one less Ranger for a while?" 

Billy nodded. "We need to talk to Zordon, anyway." * * * 

The Power Rangers teleported into the Command Center; wondering just what was up. Zordon had told them only to come there, after reassuring them that it was no monster that brought them there that time. Aura, Azure, Adam, and Billy were already there, and Aura had a tender smile on her lips. 

"Billy and I have an announcement, everyone," she said as soon as everyone was there. They all looked at each other; this was most unusual. 

"What?" Tommy asked. Aura grinned. 

"I'm going to have twins. I'm pregnant," she told them. Every last person there, Zordon and Alpha included, took a deep breath, then started in on rounds of congratulations. Once those were through, Aura looked up at Zordon. "Zordon, is there any chance of any danger to the twins because I'm not human and Billy is?" 

Zordon gave the matter some thought before answering, I DO NOT BELIEVE THERE TO BE ANY, BUT TO BE SAFE, ALPHA WILL RUN A SCAN ON YOU. 

Alpha ran his scans, and a few moments later, reported, "Everything is normal. Well, as normal as expected for someone three months pregnant!" 

Aura blushed. "Oh, yeah. It sort of happened when I was split in two." 

Tommy chuckled. "We really _did_ interrupt something there!" 

"Which also means, we are going to be short one Ranger for a while," Billy reminded them all. "Rita and Zedd are probably going to flip over this: and not in a good way. We'll need to keep an eye on Aura for a while." 

"Until they're born, and probably after," Aura mused. "I don't want anything to happen to these two." 

Billy put an arm around her. "Nothing's going to happen, Aura. We won't let anything happen." 

Kat nodded and smiled as she hugged her friend. "Guess this means we're going to be holding you a baby-shower soon!" 

Aura giggled. "What do you give the offspring of two Power Rangers, one of which is a space alien?" 

Billy kissed her as he whispered into her ear, "All the love I give you, and even more." * * * 

The next few months passed by as they usually had for the Power Rangers. Rita and Zedd attacked with monsters or spells, the Power Rangers defeated the monster; broke the spell, doing whatever they had to in order to keep the world safe and free. When Aura was six months along, Zordon declared it was too risky for her to fight with the team until after the delivery, and she reluctantly confined herself to keeping an eye on the others from the Command Center. During every fight, she teleported there, just in case Rita and Zedd tried to attack her while she was on her own. They were doing nothing that might risk the twins' within her. 

Shaya returned to Earth to instruct Aura in just what was going to have to be done during the birth itself. On Kalakan, there were certain herbs and elixirs ingested during pregnancy to ensure the child or children were in perfect health, and Shaya had brought a large supply of them with her. She had spent the fifty thousand years she'd waited for Aura to return to Kalakan saving each and every species possible in her spacecraft, and now she was transplanting them all onto a barren world she and her family had come to inhabit. With all the science and skills of Kalakan, one of the most technologically advanced civilizations in the world at the time of it's destruction, to help them, they were slowly transforming it into a lush land of life. 

"You're going to have to go to the Heart of Earth for the birth," Shaya told her. "I had to go to the Heart of Kalakan when you were born. Every Amber Ranger is born in the Heart of the world they are born to protect, and your firstborn will become Earth's second Amber Ranger." 

Aura nodded, refraining from mentioning she'd already known that. "What about the secondborn? I'm going to have twins here, mother. Will being born there have any effect on them?" 

"I don't know about that," Shaya shrugged. "As far back as I researched, I never came across anything about twins being born to the Amber Rangers: at least not during the first birth. I guess we'll just have to find out." 

"You will have to do more than simply be at the Heart of Earth," the Spirit of Earth appeared suddenly. "You will have to be the Guardian of the Earth during the birth of your firstborn, Aura." 

"Spirit!" Aura smiled and welcomed the being that was half her soul. "You knew, didn't you? You've known all along!" 

The spirit nodded. "I knew from the moment of conception. I will always know, Aura. But during your labor I will join with you, for only during the birth of the next generation of defenders does the Guardian of Earth exist not to do battle: but to give life." 

Aura looked at the Spirit of Earth, Shaya, and Jessica, all sitting around a table, and all helping her plan the most magnificent experience of her life. All her mothers were here, the mother of her heart, Jessica Robinson. The mother of her soul, the Spirit of Earth. And the mother of her body, Shaya Shaldar. _A greater trio of mothers couldn't be found in all the universe. How did I get so lucky?_ * * * 

It was January 1, the dawn of the new year. Aura's twins were due anyday now, and Zedd's plans had at last reached their final stages. "This is too perfect!" he gloated as he put the finishing touches on the scheme. 

"Is it time for your plan yet, Zeddy?" Rita asked. She'd had to put up with his gloating over 'my plan is almost done' for six months now, and she was tired of it. 

"Yes!" he nodded. "I finally found a way to enter the portal to the Fountain of Youth!" the Fountain was protected by a forcefield, generated by who knew what, that blocked non-Earthlings from approaching it. Zedd had finally worked past the main forcefield, even though the fountain water itself could only be touched by something that was human or part human still. 

"Excellent!" Rita approved. "But how are you going to lure the Rangers to it? It's not like they're just going to show up where you want them to!" 

Zedd scanned the Earth quickly, and found what he was looking for: Aura, sitting under a tree in the park, doing some knitting. It was the first time he'd seen her alone since the announcement of her pregnancy; the other Rangers were so very protective of her. 

"With the pregnant Amber Ranger! Rito, Eric, come here!" his brother-in-law and son were right next to him a moment later; they were punctual, if not always effective. Even Eric hadn't been able to succeed in any of his schemes to get Azure for his wife. 

"Yeah, what is it, Ed?" Rito asked. Zedd rolled his eyes, then told them, "Go down with some Tengas and kidnap Aura! Take her to the Fountain of Youth, and wait there for the Rangers to show up. Then push them _all_ in." 

"You got it, Ed!" Rito agreed. Eric smiled evilly. 

"Can we push _her_ into it, too?" he asked. Eric would do anything to get rid of Aura; she'd stopped his plans a hundred times and more. One thing that was deliciously evil about Eric, he never forgot a grudge. 

"Anything to stop her from having those two!" Zedd told him. There was no way he'd let those twins be born; he had a dark feeling if they were, the forces of evil would be dealt the most serious blow possible. * * * 

Aura put down the bootie she'd been knitting and leaned against the tree, closing her eyes. This was her favorite place in the park to be; it was under this tree that Billy had first proposed to her, and where they'd later been married. _This is the first time in six months they've left me alone. Of course, if they REALIZED I'm alone, they'd either all join me here, or send me to the Command Center. I need this time to myself, the twins could be born any day now. _

"Hello, Aura!" Aura's eyes flew open to see Eric, Rito, and a squad of Tengas surrounding her. _Oh, great! I should have KNOWN better! The first moment I'm alone, they try something, and I can't fight while I'm pregnant! I've got to call the others!_

"What do you want?" she asked, reaching for her communicator as she did so. 

"Just to congratulate you, and to take you somewhere," Eric smiled nastily. "Grab her!" 

Before Aura could hit her communicator's signal button, Rito and Tenga grabbed her arms and held them tightly. Aura struggled to the best of her ability, but to no avail. Eric crushed her communicator under his bootheel, then smiled nastily at her. 

"Sorry, Aura, but I'm afraid we can't allow you to have those kids!" he glanced at Rito. "Let's go." 

They teleported away, appearing near a beautiful fountain that sprung straight from the ground. Zedd was a few feet away from it, glaring evilly at her as they appeared. As Rito and Eric chained her wrists together, then shackled her to a stake in the ground near the fountain, Zedd marched over to her. "Welcome, Amber Ranger!" 

Aura snarled, "Can you ever leave me in peace, Zedd?" 

He laughed coldly. "You will not hear from me after this one, for soon, you and all the other Rangers will be _history!_" 

"Never!" Aura growled. Zedd laughed and gestured towards the water pouring forth from the ground. 

"You see this fountain?" 

"Yes," she was a bit puzzled; being brought here instead of to the lunar palace; their usual place of imprisonment, had been enough of a shock. Now he was gloating over a fountain? 

"This is the Fountain of Youth. It'll revert you and the other Rangers back to infancy!" Zedd laughed evilly and Aura glanced down to the twins hiding in her womb. 

"No," she whispered._ If he wins, that's no chance of a life for you two. I won't let that happen, no matter what it takes. You will be born, you will live, and grow. No matter what!_

"Oh, yes!" Zedd roared in triumph. Just let the Rangers come; he had the perfect bait, and there was nothing they could do to stop him!!! * * * 

"Hey, has anyone seen Aura?" Azure glanced around the Youth Center as she asked the question. She headed over to where the Rangers were seated around their usual table and repeated what she'd asked. Billy glanced around. 

"She was here just a second ago," he murmured as he hit his communicator. "Aura, come in. Aura, where are you?" 

Static was the only thing that answered him. Billy went pale as a thousand different and hideous scenarios went through his head. He knew one place she'd probably go, and wanted to check that out before panicking. "Come on, let's go to the park. Aura likes to sit under our special tree there and think. She might just have forgotten to put her communicator on." 

None of the Rangers said what was on their mind: that Aura forgetting her communicator ranked slightly below Aura forgetting about the Spirit of Earth as likely to happen. Of course, when they saw Eric leaning against a tree and leering at them halfway to the tree, even worse scenes began to spring into every head. 

"Eric!" Azure spat out his name. Eric chuckled. 

"And hello to you, too, my dear Azure!" 

"Don't call me that," she growled. Eric laughed again. 

"My, my, my, but you are all off somewhere in a great rush. Looking for something. .. or someone?" 

"Get out of the way, Eric, we don't have time to play games with you!" Aisha snapped. Zedd's son smiled a cold, cruel smile, and casually pulled something from behind his back. Billy went absolutely pale as Azure asked, "What do you want, Eric?" 

"I know it's rather old-fashioned to say, but it's not who I want, but rather, who my father and I _have_!" Eric was toying with the knitting Aura had been doing. 

"Aura. . .," Billy whispered his wife's name. "No. . ." 

"So easy to capture, too. I guess being pregnant cuts down on her fighting ability!" Eric laughed; he was enjoying teasing the Rangers like this! It was almost as much fun as tormenting Azure! 

"What do you want with her this time?" Azure just barely managed to keep the fear out of her voice. _Oh, my God, they have my sister, and she's pregnant. She can't fight them like that; what are they going to do to her? Why can't they just leave her alone?_

Eric smiled. "Just to make sure those twins of hers are never born!" 

Billy would have lunged at Eric, intent on smashing that self-satisfied look right off his face, if Tommy and Adam hadn't held him back. "You slime!" he snarled, still wanting to tear Eric to shreds. 

"This isn't going to help Aura, Billy!" Adam told him. Eric's evil laughter brought their attention back to him. 

"Well, it's been nice visiting with you, Rangers, but I've got business elsewhere. See you around, Azure," with a parting leer, he vanished. 

"Not if I scratch your eyes out," Azure snarled, her fingers curling into claws. Kat put a hand on her shoulder. 

"Calm down, Azure. I feel the same as you, but we need to find Aura." 

Azure smiled. "I'll try, but it's not going to be easy. And if they hurt my niece and or nephews, I won't be responsible for my actions!" 

Adam nodded; he felt quite the same way as she did, and Billy almost literally had steam coming out of his ears. "Let's get back to the Command Center; we'll have better luck finding them there." * * * 

Adam swore viscously and slammed his fist into the console. A second later, he put it in his mouth; that had _hurt_. Azure glanced over at him from some printouts she was looking over. "No luck?" 

Adam shook his head. "Nothing!" Billy agreed from over at his station. "Not a single sign of her. Where is she?" 

Adam was about to say something, when one of the computers began to beep urgently. He glanced over at it, and a broad grin spread across his face. "I think I found her!" 

"Where?" Billy was beside him a moment later. "Where is she?" 

"It's coming up on the viewing globe," Adam said. The Rangers and Azure gathered around it, looking intently for any sign of Aura. Azure's eyes widened briefly. 

"It looks like a small fountain," Aura was tied to a stake near it, while Zedd and Eric stood near-by, talking to each other. 

"At a fountain," Billy mused. "Why there?" 

I AM NOT SURE, BUT I FEAR THAT IS THE LEGENDARY FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH, Zordon told them. 

"That's just a myth, isn't it, Zordon?" Billy asked, his eyes pleading with Zordon to be wrong. _The Fountain of Youth. And my children not even born yet. This isn't going to happen; no matter what!_

UNFORTUNATELY IT IS NOT. AND IT APPEARS THAT ZEDD HAS FOUND IT. 

"Is there anyway we can teleport her out of there?" Azure asked. She wanted her sister home and safe; she was far too near to her due date for Rita and Zedd to be bothering with her! 

Billy checked some figures on the computer, then shook his head. "It's blocked. We can teleport in, but we can't teleport her out." 

Adam shook his head. "I don't like this. Zedd must want us to come in. He probably wants to try and get us into the Fountain." 

Aisha shivered. "We go, he pushes us in. We don't, Aura loses not only the twins, but maybe her life as well. I say we go. We have to at least _try_ to get her out of there!" 

Billy nodded. "You're right, we're going! Now!" 

"Let's do it then!" Tommy decided. "Azure, keep a lock on us, don't take your eyes off that lock!" 

Azure nodded. "You got it!" she gave Adam a quick hug. "Come home safely, and with my sister!" * * * 

"How long until the Rangers get here, Father?" Eric asked. "I can't _wait_ to shove them all in!" 

"They will be here soon," Zedd promised his son. He glanced over at Aura, who was alternately staring at the fountain, then at them. "So, how do you like the fountain, Amber Ranger? Looks good enough for a dip?" 

"Why don't you go first?" Aura suggested. _These chains are cutting into me. Ohhh. . .oh, that . . . oh, God, no! That was a labor pain! Not here, not now! I can't let Zedd know; if they suspect, they'll shove me into the Fountain right away! _"The Rangers will stop your schemes, Zedd. Even after all this time, you haven't figured that out yet!" 

Zedd laughed. "When the Rangers find you, they will learn they can't teleport you out. They have to come here to save you, and when they do. .. splish, splash!" 

Aura spat at Zedd. "You can't and won't win, Zedd!" 

"Hello, Zeddy, mind if I join in the fun?!" Rita appeared next to Zedd suddenly. She'd been bored on the moon, and decided to come down for some entertainment. 

"By all means," Zedd smiled at his wife, as she glanced at Aura. Her eyes went wide as she did so; she saw what Aura was trying so hard to hide. 

"Zeddy!" she breathed. Zedd looked over at her, raising what might have been an eyebrow in question. "It seems we're just in time! She's going to have those brats in only a few hours, or even less than that!" 

"What!" Zedd stared at Aura, who couldn't hide the wince as another labor pain shot through her. 

_This is not happening to me, not now! Billy, where are you? I can't, I won't have these kids here! I have to be at the Heart!_

"Get away from my wife!" Billy and the other Rangers were in a group not too far from Rita, Zedd, and Eric. Aura glanced over at them, and her protective instincts kicked in, even over the motherly instincts fighting to give birth to her children. 

"Guys, it's a trap, get out of here now! Don't worry about me!" 

Adam shook his head. "Sorry, can't do that, Aura!" 

Rita laughed at Aura's attempt to help her friends. "Such nobility! It'll be the end of you, Amber Ranger, and your brats!" 

Aura simply couldn't hold back the grunt of another labor pain. Billy yelled, "That's what you think!" but as he noticed the expression on Aura's face, he paled under his helmet. "Not now. .." 

Aura chuckled. "Hey, it's not my idea, Billy! These kids want to fight Zedd and Rita, too, I think!' 

"You mean she's having them, now?" Adam breathed. Aura nodded as she started trying to control the contractions. Rita nodded fiercely. 

"Yes, she is, and if you even go near her, Eric will push her in!" the evil sorceress promised them. Billy winced, staring at his wife, already in the throes of childbirth. 

"There are times I wish Azure had killed him," he muttered, watching as the three villains gloated over their victory. Adam stepped over to him. 

"Any ideas?" the Black Ranger murmured. Suddenly their attention was all taken by Eric, as he started towards Aura, an evil grin on his face. 

"Why wait?" he laughed, reaching out to push Aura into the fountain. Billy screamed denial, Adam yelled out, "You slime!" every Ranger wanted to move, but knew they were all too far away. 

All but one. As Eric drew nearer her, rushing to get a good momentum going so he could knock her straight into the Fountain, Aura moved to one side, pulling the stake out of the ground and tripping Zedd's son. He lost his balance badly, and fell into the Fountain! 

"Nooooooooo," Eric's cry faded away as he was youthened from a young adult, into a little boy, then back into a baby. Aura chuckled through a labor pain. 

"Don't mess with a mother to be," she whispered. Adam smiled; Azure's wish had come true at last. 

"And justice be done," he nodded to himself. 

"This isn't happening!" Zedd roared. Aura couldn't help but laugh. 

"I told you the Rangers would win, Zedd!" she reminded him. Zedd roared as he tried to pull Eric out of the water, only to have it shock him. "Only those who are of Earth, or who have human blood in them: like the children within me, can touch the Fountain of Youth! I can still call the Spirit of Earth, Zedd, even pregnant and near to birth. Do you _want_ to face the Guardian of the Earth?" 

Zedd glared at them as he staggered back from the fountain. "I will return, for you and for my son!" he and Rita both vanished. The Rangers headed over to Aura, slicing the chains off her and helping her to her feet. Aura grasped at Billy's arm suddenly. 

"Billy, the Heart of Earth," she whispered. Billy looked at her a bit stupidly. "What?" 

_"Get me to the Heart of Earth now!"_

"Azure, teleport us to the Heart of Earth now," Billy yelled into the communicator. A moment later, they were all standing in the heart of the world itself. The Spirit of Earth, Shaya, and the Robinsons, including Azure, were already there. As Aura arrived, the Spirit moved over to her without a single word, and joined with her, creating the Guardian of Earth, while Shaya and Jessica got started coaching Aura through the birthing of her children. 

Billy and the other Rangers paced a little ways away, waiting through what seemed like forever. Almost half an hour later, the entire Heart seemed to glitter a little more brightly, and the air seemed just a bit clearer. A thin thread of music sparkled through the air, a song of welcome and life. Billy stared at the small group a few dozen feet away, and as he heard a tiny cry, his eyes went wide. "I'm a father," he whispered. Kat was heading towards them already, a small bundle in her arms. 

"Billy, I'd like you to meet your son," she said, showing him the beautiful baby boy Aura had given birth to only minutes before. Billy looked at him, smiling. 

"A son. Oh, he's beautiful!" Billy took the baby gently and looked at him. "He looks just like his mother!" Adam peeked over his shoulder. 

"How cute! What's his name?" 

Aura and Billy had discussed this over the past few months, especially once they'd learned the genders of the twins. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet Alexander Neras Cranston: the next Amber Ranger!" just as Billy said that, an amber pendent quite literally appeared out of thin air around Alexander's neck. "It. . .it looks just like Aura's!" _Of course it does, Billy. Aura is the Amber Ranger, and so is your son. One day, he will defend the Earth as Aura does now. _

Billy glanced over to see the Spirit standing next to him. She smiled at him, then turned her attention back to where Aura had just completed the birth of the second child. Azure handed the little baby girl up to her mother. 

"Here's your daughter," she smiled. Aura took a deep breath and looked into the face of her child. 

"Little Alaina," she whispered. "I cannot go by the name my parents gave me, so I give it to you, my daughter." 

Billy came over, Alexander in his arms, and sat next to her. "She has her mother's eyes," he said softly, and indeed twin gray orbs shown from Alaina's small face. Aura smiled. 

"Let me see Alexander, and you take Alaina over to the others." 

"Okay," he smiled as they exchanged offspring, then kissed her on the forehead. "I love you, Aura." 

"I love you, too, Billy," she sighed as she looked at Alexander. She touched his pendent lightly. "You are your mother's son, little one. You will have the training of the Amber Ranger from birth, as I never did. I love you, Alexander Neras Cranston." 

She glanced up, and saw Shaya's eyes fill up with happy tears. "Thank you, Aura," Shaya told her. "There is no greater gift you could have given me than to name your son after the man I loved so much." 

"You've never told me much about my father," Aura said. "And I've asked." 

"You will know why I can't say much one day," Shaya promised her. _There is so much I know that I can't tell you, Aura. But one day, you will know it all. I only wish you didn't have to go through what you must to learn it. But fate is fate. What will be, will be._

Shaya glanced over to where Billy was showing off his daughter to the other Rangers. She could hear him clearly saying, "Guys, I'd like you to meet Alaina Azure Cranston!" 

Azure's eyes went wide as she heard that. "What is her middle name?" she breathed. Billy chuckled. 

"Azure, it's Azure!" 

Azure smiled and looked at her niece and namesake, who gurgled happily at her. Adam had told her of what had happened to Eric, and a shadow that had been in her eyes from the moment of his return had lifted at last. Shaya had told them, when she had a free moment, she was going to take Eric with her back to New Kalakan, where he would grow up a second time, preferably with a much better attitude this time around. 

Adam curled his arms around his girlfriend, and tilted her head up to look at him. "Maybe one day," he smiled as he kissed her on the forehead. She knew what he was suggesting, and smiled. For the first time in many years, she truly felt free. 

Aura cleared her throat. "Guys, the twins and I are very tired. Let's go home." 

Billy nodded. "Let's go," after quickly cleaning up the few things they needed to, they all returned to Aura and Billy's apartment. It was January 1, and things really were starting over for everyone. * * * 

"I can't believe this happened!" Zedd roared as he watched the happy birth of the Cranston twins. Rita was no less thrilled than he was over the way things had fallen out. 

"It just all fell apart! It was a perfect plan, and things just _fell apart!"_

The entire throne room was glowing red as Zedd watched Shaya leave Earth the next day with Eric safely strapped into a cradle next to her. "My son," he whispered. "I will have my revenge for what they did to you, Eric, and I will bring you back to me one day!" 

Rita muttered under her breath, "At least we're rid of one brat around here!" she returned her attention to the Cranston apartment, where Aura and Billy were falling asleep, each holding one twin in their arms. "Oh, they're so sickening!" 

Zedd turned his gaze to the happy household. Hatred filled his heart and soul as he saw the peace that had wrapped each of them. "Not for much longer," he promised. _I will have my revenge._

**The End**


	18. Stolen Amber

**Stolen Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

Three peaceful months had passed. Well, relatively peaceful anyway. Rita and Zedd made their usual attempts, and the Rangers thwarted them all. Whenever the Rangers needed to battle, Aura and Billy sent the twins to the Command Center, where Alpha was becoming quite a competent baby-sitter. 

Zedd glared down at the Rangers one afternoon; he was still furious over the loss of his son. He couldn't even watch him grow up; Shaya was able to block his vision on New Kalakan. Even that would have been a small consolation to him. Amazing as it sounded, Zedd actually cared personally for Eric, and now that Eric was gone, Zedd wanted revenge on the person responsible for it: Aura Cranston. 

"That Amber pest will pay for all that she has done!" he growled as he stared down at where Aura, Billy, and the twins were having dinner. 

"Oh, yes!" Rita snarled. She didn't care about Aura having tripped Eric into the Fountain of Youth; she just wanted to get rid of a Ranger, especially one with two children. "What shall we do to her, Zeddy?" 

Zedd smiled coldly. "Her children." 

"What about the brats?" 

"We take them, and then she will _have_ to surrender to us!" Zedd had spent the last three months planning on what he was going to do to the Amber Ranger in payback. Kidnapping Alexander and Alaina was only the beginning. 

Rita chuckled, then something occurred to her. "What of the other Rangers? They've always been able to rescue her before!" She didn't bother to list the times Aura had been their prisoner, only to be freed by the Rangers. Zedd had thought of that, though. 

"They will be too busy sleeping!" 

Rita stared at her husband. "Sleeping?" she had to have heard that wrong. Sleeping? 

"We place them under a _deep_ sleeping spell, and to be safe, the Amber Ranger's sister goes under one too!" 

Rita laughed. "She won't have anyone to turn to for help, and she's never beaten us alone!" as Zedd chuckled evilly, Rita finished her dark thought. "And she never will!" * * * 

Billy and Aura had, in the past three months, become experts in waking up immediately to feed the two beings that had become the very center of their lives. As the twins started crying yet again in the middle of the night, Billy woke up to find Aura sliding out of bed already. He joined her; they were both needed to feed their offspring. 

He went over to the playpen and picked up his son. The next Amber Ranger wailed at the top of his lungs, and his father looked over at Aura. "I think he wants to eat." 

Aura picked up Alaina, and chuckled. "They're both hungry, I think," she started to head for the kitchen, Billy behind her. The young couple had discovered new and more interesting things about love and family life since the birth of the twins, and except for the occasional Zedd and Rita attack, things were just fine for them both. 

"Who would have thought we'd be the first two Rangers married and parents, and still have our powers!" Billy chuckled. Aura smiled at him; the last few months had been a pure dream come true. 

"Certainly not me!" she told him, then grinned. "Like I can get rid of mine, anyway!" 

As Aura fixed the twins something to eat, Billy slid their son into the playpen in the kitchen next to Alaina. He looked at Alexander, whose amber pendent gleamed as bright as Aura's._ If I didn't know better, I'd swear he was full human. Alaina too. Then again, I've known Aura most of her life, and I didn't know she wasn't human._

He glanced over at his wife as she puttered around the kitchen. Her long black hair was caught in a braid over one shoulder, her every move was graceful and eloquent in it's simplicity. It was hard to believe she was just over nineteen years old, and was already married and a mother. A flash of light came from behind him, and Aura muttered, "Don't play with the lights, Billy, the twins'll start crying." 

"I didn't," Billy said, turning around. His eyes widened and he jumped back suddenly. "What do you want?" 

"Hmmm?" Aura turned around to see what Billy was looking at, and her first reaction was to reach for the morpher she customarily wore on her belt. "Zedd!" 

"Hello, Rangers!" the evil overlord snarled. He stomped his staff hard against the floor, and Billy collapsed, sound asleep. Aura snatched her morpher up. 

"Leave my family alone, Zedd!" Aura ordered, ready to morph. Zedd was having none of that, however. 

"I'm afraid I can't! You took my child, now I'm going to take yours!" he pointed his staff at her, and Aura found herself unable to move. She stared in shocked horror as Goldar and Rito appeared in the kitchen. Each of them grabbed one of the twins, then vanished. Zedd came over to her, and stared her straight in the eyes. 

"You're never going to see those brats of yours again," he growled. "You will know every bit of pain and suffering I can put you through before this is ended, Amber Ranger, and you will come to regret the day you were ever born!" 

He vanished, leaving Aura still frozen and helpless. A single tear coursed it's way down her cheek, as she stared at the playpen and at her sleeping husband. _Alaina, Alexander, Billy. I'll find a way to help you. Somehow. Zedd won't win this; there's no way._ * * * 

Azure curled up against Adam on his couch; he'd moved out of his parents' house shortly after he'd graduated, and she spent as much time there as she could, especially over the past three months. Adam put an arm around, smiling. "Azure, I love you," he whispered into her ear. They had both been in perfect peace since the moment Eric had been tripped into the Fountain of Youth. 

"I love you, too," Azure smiled as she kissed him. She ran a hand through his hair, and down his neck; their last few days had been full of touching and romance, both of them knew they were going to be spending the rest of their lives together. 

_I love her so much. I hope we're both ready for this, but I just can't live without her, completely, anymore._ Adam drew back a little, and looked deep into Azure's sparkling eyes. "Azure, I was wondering something." 

"What?" Azure yawned a little. _This is strange. I slept so late this morning, I shouldn't be tired right now! But I'm suddenly. . .exhausted. . ._

"Would you," Adam's question was interrupted by a yawn that nearly split his face in half, "marry me?" 

_He asked me to marry him! Oh, this .. is. ..hhh. . the. ..happiest... ._

Adam just had time to notice Azure had fallen asleep before he himself was wrapped in the black mists of slumber. * * * 

Aura passed the most uncomfortable night of her life, frozen still and watching an empty playpen and listening to Billy's snores. As the sun rose, her muscles relaxed and she fell to the floor. Recovering as fast as she could, she ran over to Billy. "Billy!" she tried to wake him up. "Billy, please, wake up! Zedd has the twins!" 

He didn't respond, not even when she kissed him with a passion that should have awakened the dead, much less someone asleep. She growled, then hit her communicator. "Guys! Guys, hurry up, I can't wake up Billy and Zedd has the twins!" 

Five minutes passed, while Aura paced, worried, and wondered. With no answer forthcoming from the others, she grabbed for her communicator again. "Blast it. . . Zordon, Alpha!" _If they don't answer, I think I'm going to go insane!_

YES, AURA? Zordon replied almost immediately. Aura sighed in relief; she'd have some help in this. 

"Zordon, Zedd's taken my children, Billy won't wake up, and the other Rangers aren't answering their communicators!" she was very close to wailing in frustration. 

REPORT TO THE COMMAND CENTER; SENSORS HAVE BEEN DOWN AND ALPHA HAS JUST GOTTEN THEM BACK UP. Aura nodded briefly, then teleported straight into the Command Center. As she materialized, Zordon told her, ALPHA HAS LOCATED SOME OF THE OTHER RANGERS. 

"Where are they?" Aura paced rapidly. "Why aren't they answering me?" 

OBSERVE THE VIEWING GLOBE. As she did so, images of the other Ranges appeared: and every last one of them, including Azure, was sound asleep. Aura was going white and red alternately with anger, her fists clenching and unclenching. 

"Zordon, can we wake them up?" she glanced both at Zordon and Alpha as she asked that. Alpha shook his head sadly. 

"Ay-yi-yi, it appears that they are under some kind of spell!" 

"Zedd's work," Aura growled, "and he has my children!" _How dare he take them! How dare he do this! Isn't it enough that he's trying to take over the world, he's got to ruin my life, too?!_

ALPHA, HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO LOCATE ALEXANDER AND ALAINA? Zordon asked. Alpha shook his head once again. 

"I am sorry, but I have not been able to, Zordon!" he'd been trying ever since he'd heard Aura's panicked call to the Command Center. Aura sighed, he could see the pain in her eyes. 

"My children, my friends, my husband," she whispered, sinking against a console. He shuffled over and laid a hand on her shoulder, trying to be as comforting as he could be. 

"They'll be all right, Aura," he promised her. It was the most he could do at the moment to help her. She smiled a little, as she looked at him. 

"I hope so. Please find them, Alpha," she asked gently. He nodded. 

"I will," Aura started to pace as Alpha went back to work searching for both the twins and for a way to awaken the other Rangers, who had been teleported to the Command Center for their own safety. Hours passed, and finally Aura couldn't take it any longer. 

"I need some air, Alpha. I'm going for a walk in the park; Let me know the minute you know anything," she sighed as she got to her feet. _I have to do something, if it's only walk. And I'm tired of pacing back and forth here. I need to be outdoors. If only to have somewhere I can scream in peace in._

Alpha nodded as she teleported out. He looked up at Zordon. "Ay-yi-yi, what if we can't find them, Zordon?" 

WE MUST, ALPHA. WE MUST. * * * 

Aura walked through the park, not really looking where she was going. All she wanted to do was simply forget about what was going on, who she was, who she loved, everything. She walked to empty herself, to become a shell that wouldn't care. Only then could she keep herself calm. 

It wasn't working. 

"Hello, Amber Ranger," Zedd appeared before her, his usual evil twisted sneer on his face. _This is going to be so much fun. I can't wait to see how she reacts when she sees what I demand of her._

"What do you want know," Aura snapped. "Where are my children?" 

Zedd laughed. "You want them back?" _She's so afraid and so angry. I really like that. I never quite realized how attractive she can be when she's this upset. . .what am I thinking? She's going to do just what I want if she even wants a hope of seeing the brats again. . .not that she will. . .for long, anyway!_

"You know I do!" the Amber Ranger was about to reach for her morpher, when Zedd grabbed her arms and forced her to stare into his hideous face as he delivered his ultimatum. 

"Then surrender to me, Amber Ranger, and they will be set free and your friends awakened from their sleep!" 

"No," Aura whispered, trying to get away from Zedd; his talons were biting into her flesh, and she just frankly hated the sight of him that close to her! 

"You have three hours to decide," he promised her._ I'm being generous, I should make her surrender now. But I like to see her squirm, trying to find a way to free them. . .then realize she can't._

"Zordon and Alpha will find a way to wake up the Rangers, and get my children back!" Aura snapped, still trying to get out of his grip. Zedd laughed and pushed her hard onto the ground. 

"Not with what I did. I'll be back here in three hours. And you had better be here, or you'll lose _everything!_" 

As he vanished, Aura's communicator beeped it's six-tone sound. She hit it gratefully, hoping for good news. "What is it, Alpha?" 

"Ay-yi-yi, Aura, Zedd and Rita have sent down a squadron of Tengas into the center of town, you've got to get there and protect the people!" 

She sighed; she'd never really fought alone before, even though her kind were by nature and history solitary warriors. "I'm on the way, Alpha. Any luck on getting the others awake or finding the kids?" 

"Nothing yet, but I'll keep looking!" Alpha promised. Aura nodded then took a deep breath._ Time to do my job. Alone._

"It's morphin' time! Amber Ranger Power!" she called out. Moments later, she'd arrived at the center of town, with Tengas running this way and that after the citizens of Angel Grove. "Hey, bird-brains!" she called out. "Why don't you try and take me on instead of these poor people?" 

That was all it took for every Tenga to head straight for her. Aura spun, whirled, kicked, punched, and lashed out in every combination and move she knew, doing the work of seven Rangers at once. She took hits and blows to every part of her body, and was thankful her Ranger powers healed most of them almost at once, or she'd be in serious trouble. 

It took almost an hour to get the Tengas out of there, and the minute they were gone, she was surrounded by a curious mob of people. "Amber Ranger, where are the others?" one young man asked. 

"Has something happened to them?" 

"Why are you the only one here?" 

Aura took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. "The other Rangers are on a mission that couldn't be interrupted, that is vital to the safety of Angel Grove and the world. I wasn't needed for this, so I came to take care of those minor nuisances." 

"Are you all right? You looked like you took some pretty bad hits," she recognized that voice; it was her mom, Jessica. She smiled a little under her helmet; at least she wasn't utterly alone. 

"I'm all right, ma'am," Aura told her. "But I've got to go now." 

Jessica nodded as Aura stepped away from the crowd and teleported back to the Command Center. She hadn't liked the weariness she'd heard in Aura's voice, and she hadn't been able to get in touch with any of the other Rangers, or Azure, all day. She was going to have to find out what was going on. Somehow. * * * 

Aura leaned wearily against a console, wiping the sweat from her brow as she tried to catch her breath. "That was not easy!" she groaned. "I don't care how many of my ancestors were solo Rangers; I'm not cut out to be alone! We've got to wake the others up somehow!" 

She sighed a little, then told them what had happened in the park just prior to the Tenga attack. She hadn't had time since then to think over Zedd's demand; now she did. Zordon spoke quietly. 

AURA, WE WILL FIND A WAY TO REVIVE THEM, AND FIND YOUR CHILDREN. 

_He's trying to make me feel better, to give me some hope. But I don't want hope, I want my family and my friends back. The sooner the better, now is best, and for all this to have never happened is the best of all._ She looked up at Zordon, voicing her fears. "What if the only way. . ._is_ for me to surrender?" 

Alpha shook his head violently. "You can't! We will find them before the deadline!" 

Aura stroked Billy's sleeping face gently. "I don't want to, Alpha. I fear what would happen if I do more than anything in the universe. . .," _Torture, death, being forced to serve them. And that's just what **I** can think of. They've had a lot more practice than I have at thinking up things to do to prisoners, and I don't even want to imagine what they've probably got up their foul sleeves._ "But if that's the only way, I'll do it." 

Alpha shook his head. "We'll find a way, Aura! Somehow!" 

"I hope so, Alpha. I hope so," Aura sighed._ Right now, things just don't look good. I hope I don't have to surrender, I want them awake and my children back without that. But I'll do it in a heartbeat to save the ones I love._ * * * 

_I can't believe this is happening._ Aura waited where she had met Zedd earlier; the three hours were up. Alpha and Zordon had tried to talk her out of this, but her mind was made up. They'd made no headway in waking up the Rangers, or finding the twins. This was her only option, the only way she could see to saving that which she loved. 

"What is your decision?" Zedd was suddenly there. She stepped back involuntarily, suddenly faced with the reality of what she was doing. The others weren't going to be able to get her out of this, she sensed. This was the end of the Amber Ranger, and she wasn't going out in a blaze of glory, she was giving up. 

_If this is what it takes to get them awake and back, I don't care. My life is a small price to pay for all of theirs. They are worth it, a thousand times over._ She couldn't bring herself to look at Zedd in that moment, could hardly speak the words. "I surrender, Zedd. Just bring my children back and wake up my friends and Azure and Billy." 

"So be it!" Zedd laughed._ I knew she would! Oh, this is only the beginning of the tortures I'm going to wreak on her! I have such plans for her now, and all of them are painful in the extreme!_ He held his hand out to her, to bring her into the sphere of his magic. "Come, then!" 

Wincing at the thought of having to touch him, she put her hand in his. Her last thoughts on Earth were simply, _For you, Billy, and for all my friends._ * * * 

"Ay-yi-yi, Zordon, I can't get in touch with Aura; something is blocking the signal!" Alpha stared up at Zordon; the ancient mentor looked worried. 

ZEDD MUST BE BLOCKING OUR SIGNALS, HE DOESN'T WANT AURA TO KNOW WE HAVE DISCOVERED A WAY TO AWAKEN THE RANGERS. 

"What are we going to do, Zordon?" 

REMAIN CALM, ALPHA, AND ROUSE THE RANGERS. THEY MUST BE ON THE ALERT FOR WHATEVER ZEDD TRIES NEXT. As Alpha started to work, Zordon refused to reveal the panic that was filling him at the thought of the Amber Ranger in Zedd's power. Since the moment they had first learned that Aura was the Amber Ranger, last of the Alantrius line, Zordon had, though he'd known it was foolish, considered her a touch immortal. As if nothing Zedd or Rita could do would ever get rid of her forever. Even when Kalakan had exploded and everyone had believed she was dead, Zordon had kept a silent vigil, scanning in every direction for months. But now, with Aura as Zedd's prisoner, would that immortality, that ability to rebound from anything and everything, be shattered? 

A few moments later, Billy was awake and sitting up. He glanced around, a bit confused, after all, only moments before he had been in his own kitchen, with his family. "Why am I at the Command Center?" 

"You've been asleep almost a full day, Billy," Alpha told him. "It was Zedd's doing," the little robot quickly explained everything that had went on the past few hours. Billy's eyes widened in panic as he heard of Zedd's ultimatum. "Billy, Aura went to Zedd. We tried to contact her, to tell her we were able to wake you all up, but we couldn't get through to her!" 

"Zedd was probably blocking the signal," Billy muttered as he slowly got to his feet. "Where is she now?" 

Alpha quickly ran a scan for her, and gave the bad news to Billy. "She's on the moon, Billy. They've stopped the communications block, but we can't get there right now, there's something scrambling our scans. All I can say is that she's there." 

"What about the twins?" 

Alpha shook his head. "I can't get a location on them yet, but I'll keep trying," he was already back at work. Billy nodded, then started to wake up the other Rangers and Azure. Once they were all awake, he explained what had went on. Azure went pale as she heard of what Aura had done, but managed to conceal it expertly. 

"And they still have Alex and Alaina?" she asked._ This is an absolute nightmare. I know how many nightmares Aura's had over the past couple of years, and how many of them had do with Zedd. She's afraid of him like she is of nothing I know of. But she's never let it get in her way, never let it stop her. She did everything she could to face it. She is so much stronger than I am it's not funny. _

Alpha nodded. "I'm quite certain Aura's not pleased over that, either!" the little robot told them. They all knew Aura's temper, and knew she'd be doing everything within her power to make their enemies' lives a living nightmare now. 

"If she knows that they still have them," Billy reminded them. "I wouldn't put it past them to lie in any and every way they can to her. We have to get her out of there." 

"We've been trying to get in touch with her, but still nothing!" Alpha started work at the consoles again. Adam and Billy both started to help him, while the others remained out of the way and worrying. 

_Find them all, Billy. Find them and bring them home. _Azure sighed a little. _Bring my sister back to me._ * * * 

"Welcome to your new home!" Zedd proclaimed as he and Aura arrived in the palace. Two Tengas took Aura's arms firmly, preventing her from even touching her morpher or communicator. Aura glared at Zedd; she was in no mood for pleasantries. 

"Shut up and wake up my friends and release my children!" she snapped._ I might have put myself into the hands of my enemies, but there's no way I'm going to let Zedd keep them!_

Zedd glanced towards the earth, and snarled to himself._ Good thing I blocked communications when I went to collect her; that fool Zordon found a way to break my sleeping spell! Well, I have her here now, and she's never going to leave!_ "Your friends are awake," _It's going to torment her all the more to realize she could have prevented this if she'd only been a minute later!_ "And as for your children, all in good time!" 

Aura whirled on him, breaking from the Tengas' grip. "What do you mean 'all in good time'? You promised if I surrendered, you'd return them to Earth! I did, so let them go! They're defenseless children, they can't do anything to you!" 

Zedd chuckled. "But did I say how _long_ after you surrendered that I would return them?" _If she hasn't figured out I break my word at every opportunity, she never will, and she deserves what I'm going to do to her!_

"Zedd, let them go, now!" at her impassioned plea, Zedd turned, glowing red with anger at her insolence. 

"You are in no position to demand anything!" he reminded her she was a prisoner, _his_ prisoner, and not a guest, a friend, an ally, or anything that would demand the slightest bit of respect, attention, or courtesy. Aura, on the other hand, didn't care about any of that; as far as she was concerned, he could glow until he set the whole palace on fire; she wanted her children free! 

"Let them go!" 

Zedd laughed. "Like I said, I will. But for now, they are my guests!" 

_"When_ will you let them go?" Aura tried a difference approach this time. "What more do you want before they're free?" 

He beckoned a Tenga closer to him. "Bring the youngest Cranston here," he ordered. As the Tenga ran off, he turned to Aura. "I thought you'd like to see one of them before you are imprisoned here. . ._forever!"_

Aura raised her head up high. "Imprisoned or on Earth, you still haven't beaten the Amber Ranger, Zedd. My son has the same powers I do, and if the Rangers don't defeat you, Alexander will!" 

"We shall see!" Zedd smiled nastily as the Tenga returned with Alaina in its arms. As he took the baby from the bird-warrior, he enjoyed the pained look in Aura's eyes._ She doesn't like me touching her child. Good. Things are already working out beautifully._

"Alaina," Aura whispered her daughter's name, her hands itching to get the child away from Zedd._ If he harms her, I'll kill him. My daughter, my child, my children. Where's Alexander? They better not hurt either of them._

"Take your last look at her!" Zedd prepared to send Alaina away; he'd' been planning this since the moment he saw the twins being born. Aura's eyes filled with tears, as for the first time, she made a request, not a demand of her foe. 

"Can I hold her?" her voice was very soft, pleading. The voice of a mother, of a tender, caring person who wanted nothing more than to hold something that was a part of her in her arms. 

_Oh, I might as well. It's not like either of them is going to be around much longer anyway! _"As your last request, you may," he handed the child over to Aura, who gazed with a lifetime's worth of love at Alaina. 

"Alaina," she touched the little face tenderly, gazing into the gray eyes that looked back at her. What was to become of this child, half of Earth, half of Kalakan, child of two Power Rangers? She knew what Alexander's destiny was, to follow in her own footsteps as the Amber Ranger, but what did fate have in store for this child?_ I will give her what protection I can._ Aura unfastened her necklace, then slid it around Alaina's neck, where it immediately shrank to fit. Aura raised her eyebrows at that; she'd known her own first necklace had grown with her as she'd grown, but this was the first time she'd seen this. She touched the amber gently with one finger, breathing a few special words under her breath. "Spirit of Earth, keep my daughter safe until her father can do it," she whispered, kissing Alaina on her forehead. "You will always be safe, Alaina Cranston, and never forget that I love you." 

"Enough!" Zedd snatched Alaina out of Aura's arms. "It is time for you to part company!" with a wave of his staff, Alaina vanished. "I have returned her to Earth; she is safe now." 

"And what about my son?" Aura wasn't stopping with just one child returned, she wanted them both where they belonged. 

"He will be returned soon," Zedd would have laughed at the anger that filled Aura's eyes, if he weren't already laughing at the deception he'd just pulled on her. "But first, Tengas! Take her to her cell!" 

As the Tengas closed in around her, Aura smiled at Zedd, a cold, dangerous expression. "With or without me, the Rangers will defeat you, Zedd." 

"If you wish to think that!" Zedd gestured for the Tengas to take her away. He'd prepared a special cell for her; shielded from every form of detecting equipment the Rangers had, and guarded by every Tenga he could spare, Rito, and Goldar. He had no intentions of letting her go this time. She was there to stay: forever. * * * 

"Man! I had a lock on Alaina for a moment!" Adam looked up from where he'd been working. "Zedd had her on the moon, then moved her!" 

Kat glanced over at him. "Any ideas where yet?" Adam shook his head as Alaina came to stand beside him. All the Rangers were getting more and more on edge; Aura had been there almost a full day already; the twins slightly over that. 

Azure glanced at Billy; the Blue Ranger was so nervous and worried he was actually shaking. "We'll find them, Billy. All of them." 

A sudden cry from Alpha brought everyone's attention to the small droid. "I found Alaina and Aura!" 

"You did?" Billy came over to check the readouts. "Aura's on the moon, in a cell, guarded about fifty Tengas, Goldar, and Rito! Alaina's on an asteroid, with about ten Tenga guards," he sighed a little. "Looks like they don't intend on letting Aura go easily," he glanced at Tommy. "We go after Alaina first?" it was more of a statement than a question, and they all knew it. 

Tommy nodded. "Aura's more than capable of taking care of herself; she'd be the first to tell us to go after Alaina." 

A sudden beep from the computers brought their attention back to it suddenly. Billy checked the printouts again, and paled. "Aura's not registering on the scanners anymore. They've done something to block us. ..or. ..." he couldn't say what was on his mind. _Or she's dead._

Azure put a hand on Billy's shoulder. "We'll find her again, Billy. But you guys have to go get Alaina." 

He nodded. "Come on. Let's go get my daughter." 

Alaina's rescue took all of five minutes; the Tengas were no match for Billy alone, much less Billy, Adam, and Tommy, all of whom had went. Billy quietly picked up Alaina out of the steel pen they'd put her in and smiled wanly at her. "Hey there, honey. Time to go home." 

Adam came over, smiling. That faded quickly as he saw something Billy hadn't. "Billy, she's wearing Aura's necklace." 

Billy stared; the Amber Necklace was unremoveable except by the proper wearer of it; Aura had to have done it. Adam voiced it. "Aura must have given it to her. There's no other way." 

"Let's get her home," Billy sighed. As they teleported back to Earth, he found himself worrying and wondering over one simple thing: would he ever see his wife again? 

**The End**


	19. Missing Amber

**Missing Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

Aura leaned casually against the wall of her prison, trying to make herself as comfortable as she could. Of course, in Zedd and Rita's dungeon, that wasn't exactly the easiest thing to do. She'd been their prisoner before; each time was a little different though. The main difference was she hated them a little more with each 'visit'. She sighed a little; remembering her last glimpse of Alaina was the only thing that gave her even a little hope. 

_Zedd better release Alexander soon. If he doesn't. . .the others won't know what I want them to. They have to know; they just have to!_

The door to the dungeon swung open, and Zedd entered. Aura deliberately looked away from him, turning her thoughts to the one she loved._ Billy. Oh, Billy, I love you and I miss you. Don't forget me, my dearest._

Zedd's voice broke into her thoughts. "Your daughter is back with her father." 

"And my son will be too, soon," she smiled a little; this was all she had left now, she knew, her memories and her hopes. Zedd intended to deny her the hope, she knew. But she had her memories, regardless. 

"Perhaps," he came over to stare at her; she turned away again, not wanting him to see the tears that had sprung into her eyes as thoughts of Billy went through her mind. 

"No perhaps about it," she said coldly. She would give him no pleasure in knowing how much being away from her family hurt her. He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him, smiling when he saw the pain that both his grip and her imprisonment caused her. 

"You are in _no_ position to give orders," he growled to her. Aura jerked her head away from him and he chuckled, enjoying every bit of mental anguish he was putting her through. "Would you like to see your son?" 

Aura snapped out the single word, "Yes, preferably at home with his sister and father!" 

Zedd waved his staff, and an image appeared before them. Aura looked up to see her son there; sleeping in a small playpen, with Rito and Goldar both on guard nearby._ I wondered where they'd went after they left earlier today. Guess now I know._

"Oh, Alex," she whispered; her voice so full of love and pain that Zedd's ancient withered heart almost pulsed once more with life. He laughed coldly; he could use her pain to hurt her even more! 

"Pity you will never see him again!" he reminded her as the picture faded away. _Tomorrow I begin the real torture of this foolish Ranger! I've been planning this for three months now, and I have so many plans for her. So very many painful plans. . . _

"Billy will rescue him," Aura said firmly. "That's what's important."_ Not me. If Zedd has me to torment, he won't be guarding Alexander as well; that's got to be how they got Alaina back. My family is more important than I could ever be._

"He can't even find him! He can't even find you!" Zedd laughed. He didn't notice the small smile that tugged at Aura's lips. She knew that Billy would find Alexander; she could feel it in her pulse, in her heartbeat, in her very soul. Zedd continued to taunt her. "Your sister has to help him take care of your daughter in your. . .absence." 

Aura chuckled under her breath. "They'll find Alex," she promised Zedd. "And when they do, if you've harmed him, then you're going to wish you'd never even heard of the Power Rangers!" 

"If that is what you want to think!" Zedd raised his staff suddenly and lashed her with magical bolts of pain, just for the pure pleasure he got from hearing her sudden and unexpected screams of pain. _Oh, that is such a sweet sound. I could listen to her scream forever. In fact, I probably will!_ * * * 

Azure and Adam sat quietly in the Command Center, watching over Alaina. The little baby seemed none the worse for her brief imprisonment; the only thing that was different was Aura's necklace gleamed around her neck. Billy had tried to remove it, to see if Aura had attached anything to it, only to find it was as immovable as ever. 

"She's a beautiful girl," Adam said softly. "Like her aunt," he took every opportunity to praise and compliment Azure; he enjoyed doing it, and liked the soft shade of pink she blushed whenever he said things like that. 

"Like her mother," Azure demurred, shaking her head lightly. Adam touched the necklace a little. 

"I wonder why Aura gave the necklace to her," he mused. Tommy glanced over, shrugging. That was one mystery they were going to have to wait for the answer to it seemed. He looked back at Alpha. 

"Any luck yet?" his question was answered by Alpha's shaking of his head. _If we don't find them both, I think Billy's going to go insane, and I couldn't blame him. He loves Aura and the twins so much. Take away any member of their family, and you've got an entire mob on your hands to deal with! I almost envy them that._

"Hold it!" Billy's voice held complete triumph. "I think I've found Alex!" 

Everyone rushed over to him, to be pushed quickly back as he tried to pinpoint the location. "Where is he?" Azure was eager to bring her nephew home. Billy read off the location co-ordinates, then sighed deeply. 

"Still no sign of Aura," since she'd vanished off their sensors the other day, Aura might as well not have existed for all that she showed up on the Command Center computers. Adam tried to reassure his friend. 

"We'll find her," he promised._ We have to find her. Who knows what sort of things they're doing to her? They've wanted a chance to do something like this to her for a year now. I wonder why she did it; she knew perfectly well Zedd wasn't going to release the twins without a fight. I guess I'll have to ask her if . .. no, when we get her back!_

"I know," Billy nodded. "And anything that Zedd's done to her, I'm going to take out of his skinless hide!" 

Tommy nodded. "What are we waiting for? Let's go get little Alex out of there!" 

Billy was ready to teleport that very second, when Alpha stopped them suddenly. "Ay-yi-yi-yi, no, Rangers!" he waved his arms frantically trying to get their attention. Adam glanced towards him worriedly. 

"What's wrong, why can't we?" the Black Ranger didn't like the way Alpha looked first at him, then at Azure. _He can't be thinking what I think he is. . ._

"It has to be a non-Ranger; Zedd set up a forcefield around the planet Alexander is on that could strip you all of your Ranger powers, and damage you so badly you could very well die in the process." 

"No way!" Adam knew exactly what Alpha was trying to suggest, and he was furious. "_No_ way!" 

"I see no other way, Adam!" Alpha protested. Adam looked at his girlfriend quickly, to see a determined light in her eyes he recognized all too much. 

"You. .. you can't want to do this!" he almost stepped back from the glare she threw at him._ I don't think I should have said that._

"I can't just leave my nephew there!" she snapped. "You can't possibly think I'd do that!" 

"Azure," he said helplessly; then was dragged over to one side of the Command Center. She pulled him down and whispered in his ear softly, "When we get them all back, then we'll tell them!" 

"Tell them what?" he affected surprised; she batted him on the ear. 

"We're going to have to do some talking once I get back with Alexander," Azure promised him, smiling as she kissed him on the lips. She glanced over at Alpha. "I'm ready. Just tell me what I've got to do and I'll do it." 

Alpha nodded and came over to her. "From the readings, we'll be able to teleport you very near to where they're keeping Alexander. Goldar and Rito are on guard; along with a few Tengas." 

Azure nodded firmly, then looked at Adam. "I'll be fine," she promised him. "After all, I'm a black belt these days, thanks to you!" 

"You'd better be fine," he told her as he kissed her yet again. "I'd be lost without you." 

She smiled. "You keep that up, I'm not going to be able to go anywhere!" she pulled away from him a little, and looked to Alpha. "I'm ready." 

A moment later, only the Rangers stood in the Command Center. Adam sighed deeply, and exchanged a long glance with Billy. Both the women they loved were gone now, but Adam knew he was luckier than his friend. At least they knew for certain Azure would be back. But as for Aura. . . * * * 

Azure found herself in a thick jungle; she could hear voices up ahead of her. _Probably Goldar and Rito. I hope I can get Alex out without them seeing me. The last thing I want to do is go up against them again, especially now._ She still remembered the times Goldar had tried to kill her; only to be stopped by Aura._ She can't help me this time. If I'm seen. . .I'm on my own._

She quietly stepped through the trees, using all the techniques of silence and stealth that Adam had taught her. Moving so quietly as to be mistaken for a shadow, she managed to slip up to where the two idiots were guarding her nephew. She paused for a moment, listening to them discuss whatever it was a pair of mutated morons talked about while guarding the child of a Power Ranger. * * * 

"Why'd we get baby-sitting duty?" Rito whined. Alexander Cranston sat quietly in his playpen, watching his unusual 'baby-sitters'. He was a very quiet baby, with large blue eyes and a serious demeanor. To anyone who knew Aura, they would have recognized that look. It had been known on Kalakan as the 'look of the Amber Rangers'. Calm, dedicated, and absolutely dead set against anything evil. 

"Cause that brat is the next Amber Ranger," Goldar reminded him. He paced back and forth in front of the playpen/cage, fuming. "I want my chance at the current one! Zedd's keeping all the fun of torturing her to himself!" 

Azure had been slowly creeping nearer to the playpen when she heard that. She jumped up, eyes glazing, and muttered just a little too loudly, "What?" Her heart sank as Goldar turned to Rito. 

"Did you hear something?" 

"Yeah, I think I did!" the bone-man turned around, and his 'eyes' widened as he saw Azure. "Hey, isn't that the Black Ranger's girlfriend?" 

Goldar turned, and the look in his eyes frightened Azure as he started towards her. "Why, so it is," he smiled nastily. "We meet again!" 

"So we do," Azure was breathing harder and harder as Goldar drew closer to her. "So we do." 

"Come for your little brat nephew, huh?" Goldar's sword appeared in his hand. He'd waited for a chance at either of the sisters for a while now. 

"No, I came to see you," Azure said sarcastically. "Of course I came to get Alexander out of here, and he's no brat!" she fell into a fighting stance. There was no way she was ever going to be afraid again, no matter what. 

"Ohhhhh!!" Goldar laughed; this was funny. The little human actually thought she could fight him. "Am I supposed to be afraid of you?" 

"No, but I'm not going to let you hurt my nephew!" Azure declared. She started the fight, running towards Goldar and jumping with a solid two-foot kick at his chest. He staggered back, growling with anger. 

"You can't do anything to stop us, brat!" he ran towards her, only to be tripped by her fast-moving feet. Azure had subconsciously been preparing herself for this fight for over a year now, and she was ready. 

"Try me!" she stomped on Goldar's wrist until he had to release his sword, then backed towards Alexander. As much fun as this was, she had to keep her mind on her mission: the rescue of the baby. "Guess what, Goldar!? You don't scare me anymore!" she had to tell him; had to let him know that the fear he'd held over her was gone. It had really vanished the day she'd known Eric was in town; but now, she was finally able to fight both Eric's memory and Goldar's grim reality. 

"Good!" he actually approved of that. "It's no fun to destroy a cowering weakling!" 

"Idiot!" Azure snapped as she and Goldar traded blow after blow in a fight she knew Aura would have been proud to see, if not take part in. Rito looked over at her. 

"Yeah, what?" both she and Goldar stopped to stare at him when Rito said that. She shook her head. 

"I wasn't talking to you!" her momentary distraction cost her, though, as Goldar knocked her down. He laughed coldly at her. 

"You're never going to get this brat or your sister back, human!" he promised her. Azure shook her head. 

"Wanna bet?! If I can't, the Rangers _will!_" What Goldar said next terrified her down to her soul. 

"I don't think you'll _want_ your sister back even if you do find her!" 

"What do you mean by that?" Azure asked, ducking as he swung his great blade at her. He laughed. 

"You'll have to wait and find out!" 

"Why don't you just tell me!" Azure dodged as he swung yet again. "I hate surprised!" 

"Sorry, human!" Goldar thrust the sword straight at her, almost grazing her skin. "Let's just say after what Zedd's doing to her, she won't be _quite_ the same person you knew!" 

Azure flipped away from him, kicking him harshly as she did so in a region Aura had mutilated many times before. She found herself by Alexander's playpen, where Rito was playing with the little baby. "Put him down!" she ordered. Rito looked at her; and she was surprise to almost see a tender look in his eyes. 

"He's so cute! Can't I play with him just a little longer?" 

"Put him down!" she repeated. A sudden roaring brought her attention back to the fight, and she turned just in time to see Goldar bring his sword down hard towards her. She moved just barely in time; she wasn't knocked unconscious, but she did fall to the ground. Goldar roared in triumph. 

"I told you that you'd never win, human!" Azure glanced up as he bellowed, then spun around and kicked him hard in the knees, knocking him flat on the ground. She leaped to her feet, grabbed Alex away from Rito, and hit her communicator. A moment later, she was back in the Command Center. 

Billy and Adam ran over to her. "You got him!" Billy took his son and began a quick examination to make sure he was all right. Adam kissed her quickly. 

"Azure, are you all right? What happened?" he asked. She looked at Billy, a small smile on her lips. 

"I got him. Two down, one to go," she ruffled Adam's hair a little as he kissed her again. 

"I'm glad you're safe," he glanced at the bruises starting to show on her. "Looks like you had to fight some." 

"I did," she nodded as she headed over to the consoles. As she started to do something, her eyes rolled up into her head and she collapsed. Adam caught her quickly and carried her over to an examining table where Alpha scanned her. 

"She'll be fine," he reported. "She's just worn out." 

Adam sighed. "Good," he glanced over when he heard Azure talking in her sleep. 

"Get Aura out," she muttered. Billy's eyes flashed with worry as he once more started the scans for his wife and love. 

_We've got to find her. We just have to._ * * * 

Aura ignored Zedd as he entered the dungeon again. He'd made a habit of showing up to torment her; and she made the habit of ignoring him whenever he did so. "Your son may have been returned," she could tell how angry he was over that, too, "but your sister suffered!" 

She laughed. "Azure will heal, and you've lost _both_ my children now!" 

"But I have not lost _you!_" he reminded her. He waved his staff, showing her the fight between Azure and Goldar. Aura smiled; she was so proud of how far Azure had come in her martial arts and her inner strength. 

"I knew she'd beat him one day," she muttered. The scene shifted to them arriving back in the Command Center, and moments later, Azure collapsed on the floor. Aura bit her lip, hoping her sister was all right. 

"She also lost," Zedd reminded her. Aura glared at him. 

"She's alive, and she has my son back!" 

Zedd chuckled. "Is she alive? How can you be sure?" the blood drained from Aura's face as Zedd spoke. She couldn't let him know the fear she felt, though. 

"I know. I can feel it." 

He laughed. "I wouldn't count on that feeling!" 

Aura could no longer stop her tears. "If she is dead, I won't rest until you are, Zedd!" 

"You will never know!" he reminded her of her captivity. _And he's right, I probably will never know! Oh, sweet stars of heaven, this was the greatest mistake I've ever made in my life! _

Zedd forced her to look at him again. "You are not going to live much longer. You are going to wish you had never come here!" 

Aura whispered, even though she knew he'd hear her being as close as he was at the moment. "I already wish that." 

**The End**


	20. Tortured Amber

**Tortured Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

The past week had been pure agony for Billy as he'd searched endlessly for Aura. Rita and Zedd had sent no monsters; hadn't even called them up to taunt them about having Aura captive in their dungeon. Things were so quiet Billy was going insane with worry as he searched endlessly for his wife. 

The younger Robinson girl was quietly feeding Alex, who gurgling happily and looked none the worse for wear for his brief stay in the clutches of evil. Azure glanced first at Adam, who held and fed Alaina, then over at Billy. "No luck?" 

Billy shook his head. In the past week, if he'd slept five hours Azure would have been very surprised. She was just as worried as he was, but she'd made an effort to sleep. He, on the other hand, was at the Command Center computers constantly. 

"Why don't you go home and get some rest? I can help Alpha look for her, and Adam and I will watch the twins." 

Panic flared in his eyes. "No, I've got to find her," Billy asserted. Adam looked sternly at his friend. 

"You're not going to be able to give her much help once we find her in your condition. Get some sleep, before I have to have Alpha give you a sedative." 

Billy stared, eyes wide. "You wouldn't!" 

"Try me," Adam said flatly. He was fully intent on doing so if he had to. Billy sighed, his shoulders slumping. 

"All right. But if you find _anything_ let me know at once!" 

"You'll be the first we let know," Azure assured him. Alpha teleported Billy out of the Command Center at once, straight into his bedroom at home. 

Billy sighed as he looked around the room. There were little pieces of Aura everywhere. Her brush on the nightstand, interwoven with a thousand strands of her dark hair. The chunk of amber by her side of the bed. The painting on the wall. . .he went over and touched it lightly, remembering when she'd shown it to him. The first of her paintings she'd ever shown to him, years earlier, when she was eight years old, when she'd just begun to develop her artistic talent. His mind flashed back to then. . . * * * 

_"Aura, this is beautiful! I've never seen anything like this before!" Billy stared at the painting she'd just uncovered. It glowed with life and color and passion. This wasn't the work of an amateur, that was for certain. If he hadn't known better, he would have sworn it had be done by a professional artist with years. . . no, centuries of experience behind them! _

_It was a landscape, with a hint of a city in the background. A silvery stream wound through several small clumps of trees, with berry bushes dappled with golden shafts of sunlight dotted about. A few animals wandered about, none of them recognizable as any specific species, but all of them fit into the scene somehow. Through the trees there gleamed the spires of a crystal city. _

_It seemed almost too good to be true; a realm of endless fantasy conjured up from the depths of a child's mind. But something deep inside both Aura and Billy whispered that this place was real. . .this place was. . ._ * * * 

"Kalakan," he whispered the word under his breath. "She painted the Heart of Kalakan. She knew, even then, who and what she was somehow." 

"Of course she did, Billy," he turned to see the Spirit of Earth standing there. She looked so tender, so motherly, it was all Billy could do not to throw himself into her arms and weep out all the rage and anger and frustration he felt at not being able to help his wife. "She knew deep inside, from the moment of her birth, what she was to be. That's why she accepted it so easily. Do you truly believe that someone who went through what she did in the beginning of their Ranger career would have continued if she didn't have it in her blood?" 

Billy knew the Spirit was right. He sat on the bed and sighed. "Spirit, Zedd has Aura, and I can't find her on any of the computers. Can you help?" 

His last spark of hope was extinguished when the Spirit shook her head. "I can only sense that Aura is still alive, and that she misses you and the twins with all her heart." 

"I thought you could find her anywhere," he almost said it challengingly. 

"Anywhere on Earth, I can find my Ranger," she smiled a little, and patted him on the shoulder. "But she is not on Earth. Be of good heart, Billy. She will return to you, in good time." 

"In good time? I want her back now!" he cried out. The Spirit looked somewhat harshly at him, then gestured towards the bed. 

"Get some rest," she ordered. "You will be of no use to Aura when she is rescued if you do not sleep." 

He reluctantly stretched out and closed his eyes. He felt the Spirit's hand brushing his forehead gently, and was going to ask what was going on, when he fell into the most profound and restful slumber possible. 

The Spirit of Earth smiled a little as she returned to her home in the Heart._ Your time of trial has come, Aura Robinson. The fire of torments you pass through will, if you survive, make you the strongest Amber Ranger ever known. Please survive, my sister, my daughter, partner of my heart. Survive._ * * * 

Azure slipped Alexander into the playpen that had been set up in the Command Center for the twins. She sighed a little. "It's about time Billy got some sleep," she observed. "He was about to collapse. 

Adam nodded. "We've got to find Aura, for his sake if nothing else, and for yours," he hadn't missed the dark circles under her own eyes, evidence of her own sleepless nights. 

"I'll be fine," Azure reassured him as she started another search on the computer. "I've always got you. I just hope we find her in time. . .for _her_ sake." * * * 

Zedd swung open the door to the cell and entered, chuckling already. He so enjoyed his daily torment of Aura; she hadn't lost her spirit yet, and that made her torture all the more fun. 

"Greetings, Amber Ranger," he said sarcastically as he came over to where she hung against the wall. She glanced over at him, fire in her gray eyes still. 

"Go to hell," she growled. He rather liked bantering with her; her wit was refreshing, unlike the silly 'jokes' perpetrated by Rito and Goldar. Rita wasn't much fun, not really. Aura's dry humor amused him. 

"I was already there; not a bad place to visit; maybe I'll take you with me next time. ..or send you there ahead!" he smiled a little at the threat. Aura spat at him. His eyes widened in both surprise and anger. "What? You aren't enjoying my hospitality? None of this would have happened if you hadn't done that to my son!" 

Aura shook her head. "None of this would have happened if you hadn't kidnapped me before my children were even born!" Zedd waved all that away; what was important was her torment. 

"How would you like to see what your dear husband is doing?" 

"I want to _be_ with him, not just see him!" she growled. She made no pretense at liking this place or what she'd done; she wanted to be home, and didn't intend to hide it. 

"You will never be with him again!" Zedd promised her. Her torture would end with her death; once it had lasted long enough. He could only hope she didn't die of old age before he killed her. He waved his staff, showing Aura her husband fast asleep in their bed at home. She looked him over eagerly, noticing the telltale signs of worry all over him. 

"He hasn't been eating," she muttered to herself. Zedd laughed wickedly; he'd been planning what would happen in a short time for a while. It was going to cause her so much pain. . . 

"He thinks you're dead," he told her, and indeed Billy's cheeks were streaked with tears. Aura growled deep in her throat, calling Zedd every foul name in two languages. She finished up with, "Let me out of here, Zedd, or I'll. . .I'll. . .." 

Zedd laughed. "Or you'll what?! Let us see how you stand up against Goldar!" Zedd snapped his fingers, and Goldar appeared, smiling nastily at her. He'd been in a foul mood since Azure had beaten him during Alexander's rescue, and was more than willing to take it out on her captive sister. 

_Oh, another fight with him. This is actually getting boring._ "I've beaten him before," Aura reminded Zedd. "Frequently!" 

Goldar laughed, and something in that laughter made Aura's blood run cold. What he said turned her blood from cold: to ice water. "But you are chained up," he said softly, dangerously. "And will remain that way!" 

She went white. _That's not a fight. That's a massacre: mine! _"You wouldn't!?" 

"I would!" Zedd watched approvingly as Goldar drove one massive knee into Aura's stomach. With the same movement he backhanded her harshly, drawing blood from a suddenly split lip, then with a swing of his sword, sheared her long black hair off so short her scalp actually bled. He casually pulped both of her knees, enjoying the screams of agony he tore out of her with that. Shortly afterwards, as he broke several of her ribs, Aura simply went unconscious. 

Just before she would have died of her injuries, Zedd raised his staff again, and healed everything Goldar had done to her. Her eyes snapped open in fright; she remembered clearly what he'd done the last time he'd healed her after a beating by Goldar, almost two years earlier now. She hadn't had her amber necklace then, either, though for a different reason. . .surely he wouldn't. . . 

He laughed; recognizing the fear in her eyes was easy. "No, Aura, you won't serve me this time. Though that would be the ultimate humiliation, I have other things in mind for you, things even more painful. That is why I healed you; there is very little fun that can be had with a dead body!" 

She slumped against the wall, already feeling the edges of despair nibbling at her. All of that was lost, however, when Goldar started the beating again. All she knew then was simple and utter pain. She managed to mutter, "Zedd. . .Billy will get . .. you for this," she bit the words off through clenched teeth." 

The evil overlord shook his head; this time not healing her wounds, though she hovered at the brink of death. "I think not. Time for your friends to see what has happened to you!" * * * 

Azure flipped a couple of switches, then took a deep breath suddenly. "I'm getting something," she reported. Those were words that hadn't been uttered in a week. 

"What is it?" Adam asked, coming over to her. She checked the readouts, then said, "On the Viewing Globe," she turned to it. As she saw who was on it, she spoke his name through clenched teeth. "Zedd." 

Adam stepped closer to the Globe. "Zedd! What do you want now? Release Aura at once!" 

The skinless overlord laughed. "I just wanted you to know that she is still alive! For _now!_" he stepped aside, and Azure felt her stomach churning when she saw her sister. There simply weren't words enough to describe how badly Aura had been beaten. It was a miracle she hadn't died already. 

"No," Azure whispered, her heart twisting._ This can't be happening. Aura, what haven't they done to you? Even after this, won't they let you go? What more could Zedd possibly have in mind?_

Aura managed to raise her head, barely. She whispered, "Azure. . .tell. . .Billy. . . I love him. . ." that was all she managed to get out before falling into unconsciousness. 

"You slime!" Adam was fully prepared to morph and lead a full on assault against Zedd if that was what it took to get his friend back. 

"Aura, we'll get you back!" Azure screamed, hoping Aura could still hear her. The Viewing Globe went dark as Azure ran to a console attempting to get a lock on where the transmission was coming from. "Damn it all to hell!" she swore as Zedd's block against scanning his palace came up again. 

"We found her once, we can do it again," Adam tried to reassure his sobbing girlfriend. Azure shook her head. 

"We didn't find her, Zedd contacted us. He wanted us to know what he'd done to her," she looked up into Adam's dark eyes. "Adam, she's only been there a week, and they've done that to her. If we don't find her and rescue her. . .she could die," Azure then remembered Billy; he had to know this, no matter how much it tore at him. She quickly contacted him, and was rewarded with the Blue Ranger teleporting into the Command Center: still in his shorts. 

"Did you find her?" he asked eagerly. Managing to stifle a laugh, Azure told him, "Zedd contacted us, he wanted to show off. Alpha, play that back!" 

Alpha replayed the tape of the recent communication, and it broke everyone's heart to hear how Billy whispered his wife's name so gently, so tenderly. Azure put a hand on her brother-in-law's shoulder. "We'll find her. That I swear. And Zedd will _pay_ for this." 

"I'm going to tear him apart!" Billy swore. Adam sighed a little; if they didn't get Aura back soon, Billy could very well go over the edge. The Black Ranger still remembered how distraught Billy had been when everyone believed Aura dead on Kalakan. He didn't want to know what would happen if Aura truly died. 

"Let's concentrate on getting Aura back first," he suggested. Billy nodded as he started on the consoles again, fully refreshed from his twelve-hour nap. Adam cleared his throat gently. "Um, Billy?" 

"What is it?" 

"I think you might want to get dressed first," Adam gestured towards what Billy was. . .and was not. . . wearing. Azure was just barely able to control her giggling; this was a tension-breaker they had all needed. 

"I'm sure we can manage while you put on some clothes," Azure reassured him. It took Billy less than two minutes to teleport back home, dress, and return to the Command Center. With both renewed energy and fear, they started seeking their friend again. * * * 

Long, endlessly long days passed for Aura as she hung in the lunar dungeon. Goldar, with occasionally Rito to help him, showed up every day to break every bone she had on an irregular basis. Zedd always healed her before she died, but even so, the pain remained. When she was able to think, and times when her mind was clear enough to do that were growing rarer, she wondered if it were possible to die from pain alone. She had the sneaking suspicion that even if it were, Zedd wouldn't let her die. Not yet. He told her frequently that the beatings were only the very tip of what he had planned for her. 

At times, Aura wondered if she were able to alter history by not tripping Eric into the Fountain of Youth, would she do so? It gave her something to think about, and she came to the conclusion that she wouldn't. The pain she suffered now was a small price to pay for the freedom she'd given Azure with that one act. 

She almost wished they would come to torment her on anything like a regular basis; it would enable her to at least know how much time had passed here. One of the first things they'd done was destroy her communicator, and she knew if she hadn't given her amber necklace to Alaina, they would have tried to get rid of that too. A small smile formed as she remembered how her first necklace had zapped Zedd when he'd once tried to touch it. The Amber Necklace could be touched only by those who were aligned with good; any evil who tried to touch it were racked with pain. 

She thought of the Spirit of Earth, and wished that she could communicate with her. She'd been too scared to try it when she'd first arrived here, and too angry over the abduction of her children. Once both of them were rescued, her torture had begun, shredding her concentration to bits. It was impossible to speak to the Spirit when every muscle and bone she had ached in unimaginable ways. 

_Maybe I can still do it. If I can get beyond the pain, get to where it doesn't hurt me anymore. . .maybe I can speak with her, tell her where I am, then she can get the Rangers to get me out of here._ Aura closed her eyes and took a deep breath, ignoring the agony in her chest as she did so; Goldar had almost punctured her heart with a broken rib the day before. Zedd had given him a severe tongue-lashing for it too; it seemed whatever he had in mind simply wouldn't work if she were dead. She chuckled lightly. _Much good I'd do him if I were dead. Apparently his plans aren't done yet. Oh, well. Nothing lasts forever, not even this. Either the Rangers will rescue me, or Goldar will screw up and kill me before Zedd can fix it. Regardless, I will be out of here one day._

She started to concentrate, to form the words within her mind that would take her to that silent place within herself where she could speak with the Spirit of Earth, her partner, her soul, her other half. _Spirit? Spirit of Earth, can you hear me?_

It seemed an endless time before she felt a flicker of life, a spark of a response. _Aura?_ Love and strength and courage flowed into her from their link suddenly, and she knew the Spirit was with her, as she had always been. 

Cold talons gripped her chin suddenly, scraping against her jawbones, piercing deep into her. She opened her eyes to see Zedd there, glaring hideously at her. "Time for the real fun to begin, Amber Ranger. Let's see what you're afraid of, deep inside!" 

A crimson beam of light shot from his eyes into hers, and her body, mind, heart, and soul were racked with the most horrific agony she had ever known. Images swarmed up into her mind that she'd tried to ignore, filling her with the acid taste of fear. 

_"Billy's dead, Aura," the faceless person spoke the words that tore her heart apart. Then they were replaced by the Spirit of Earth, towering over her, livid with rage. _

_"You are no longer worthy to be my Ranger!" something broke within her, a place once filled with love and eternal support was now a desolate wasteland. She was no longer the Amber Ranger. . .but she stood before him, before the last Amber Ranger. . .Neras Alantrius. . . _

_"You are a failure! You are not my daughter!" he thundered, and Aura backed away, unable to face him. His scorn was palpable, it was so thick. Then he was gone, and in his place stood Tommy, Rocky, Kat, all the other Rangers. _

_"We don't want you on the team, Aura," Adam hissed. "You're not from Earth, you can't defend it. We don't care what kind of scam you pulled on the Spirit to get your powers back; you don't deserve them. A real Ranger wouldn't have surrendered to Zedd." _

_His hissing voice continued, then was replaced by true hissing, as the Rangers transformed into hideous, slithering serpents, snakes that wound all about her, glaring at her with their stone-cold eyes, she could hear their scales rubbing against each other, one coursed up to her and was about to swallow her whole. . ._

She threw her head back, breaking the connection, tears pouring from her eyes. There had been more images, things she hadn't been able to see clearly, but she knew what they had all been: everything she'd ever been afraid of in her life, if only for a moment. Zedd's chilling laughter sounded. 

"Ah, this will be easier than I thought!" he took a long moment to stare at her, assaulted yet again by something that might almost have been a memory, of Aura crying over something. . ._ What is this? Why do I keep seeing her in moments like this? I almost feel. ..something for her. Oh, this is foolishness, she is my enemy and my prisoner, the only thing I feel for her is contempt! _

As the pain faded, Aura whispered, "What. . .are you doing, Zedd?" 

"Destroying you!" he told her. "I know everything about you now, Aura, and you won't be able to stand up to what I'm going to do. In the end, you will be so broken you will _die_ thanking me for killing you!" 

"No," she whispered, managing to shake her head. ". . .won't let you. . ." 

"You have no _choice!_" he reminded her. He could do anything he wanted to her; the other Rangers couldn't rescue her; they couldn't even find her! 

"I won't let you," there was a sudden strength in her voice. "The others will find me and get me out of here. And you _will_ be defeated!" she lashed out with a sudden kick, that held none of her old strength. She was fed seldom in here, and most of it she didn't want to eat in the first place. Zedd jumped away from her and chuckled at the feebleness of it. "Amber Ranger _never_ gives up!" she promised him. She didn't know where this newfound courage came from, but she wasn't going to deny herself the chance to taunt Zedd, even a little bit. 

"You will soon," he said silkily. He stamped his staff on the ground, creating an image in the air as he had done so many times before. She looked up to see a monster attack raging through downtown Angel Grove; her muscles twitched, wanting to be there, to help her friends. "This is taking place right now; your dear husband is so upset he can't fight!" 

Aura's heart shattered as she saw the monster reach straight into the WolfZord and pluck Billy out of it. The others tried to reach him, but to no avail, as the monster squeezed the life out of her husband and dropped his corpse several hundred feet to the ground. Aura screamed Billy's name in agony, her heart broken and bleeding with pain. She didn't even notice Zedd leaving, chuckling with foul glee. 

_Billy. Oh, Billy, no. You can't be dead. This means. . .Zedd won. . .no. . .it can't be. .. this is all my fault. . .all my fault. . ._ * * * 

Another week had droned by, another week without Aura. The twins hadn't left the Command Center except for brief moments to see their grandparents; the Rangers didn't want to risk Zedd perhaps attempting to abduct them again. Billy and Azure had barely left it for that long; both of them were trying everything they could think of to rescue Aura. Billy had invented five different new ways to scan into the Lunar Palace, but though they knew precisely where she was, and enough of what was happening to her to know they'd better hurry, they still couldn't teleport her out. 

"Still no way to get her out," Billy sighed as he sat down. "Why won't they let us have her back?" there was such depression in his voice it was almost fatal just to listen to him. Adam nodded, his arm wrapped around the sleeping Azure. 

"This is nerve-wracking," which had to have won the prize for "Understatement of the Century". 

"This is beyond nerve-wracking!" Billy snapped. "I want my wife back!!" 

"I know what you mean," Azure grumbled as she woke up. Adam looked down at her, smiling a little. 

"I see the sedative wore off," he'd had Alpha inject her with something to make her sleep several hours earlier; or else she would have completely collapsed. They watched as Billy played with his children, and could see his eyes flit endlessly to the amber necklace now around Alaina's neck. 

Azure hugged him suddenly. "She'll be just fine, and will be back before you know it." 

"I hope so, Azure, oh, I hope so!" he prayed fervently._ I don't want to be without her any longer; Zedd will pay for everything he's done to her, for everything he did to my Aura!_

"Hello, Rangers!" the hideous voice of Zedd came from the Viewing Globe. One and all, the Rangers turned to shout the same phrase, "Release Aura!" 

Billy roared at the top of his lungs, "_Where's my wife?"_

Zedd chuckled. "I am sending her home, shortly," the Rangers stared at each other. Zedd had never done this before, just released one of them! 

"What are you up to, Zedd?" Adam didn't trust this one little bit. None of them did, but if he were going to send Aura back. . . 

"Nothing," Zedd told them. "Just being. . .nice," he shuddered at the use of that word. "Here she comes!" 

Billy dodged to the computers at once. "Something or someone is being teleported into the Command Center." 

Something appeared on the floor between them all. Azure ran over to it, and recognized the long dark hair, the face beneath the bruises, the tattered remains of clothing. . .that wasn't moving with breath. . because she wasn't breathing. "No. . .she's. . . " 

"I'm going to kill you, Zedd!" Billy screamed as he dropped to his knees beside Aura's body. "No, my Aura, my love, this can't be happening!" Both he and Azure erupted into tears. There was no denying this one; Aura was dead. 

"You'll pay for this, Zedd," Adam promised, his voice thick with unshed tears. Azure teleported out a moment later, unable to remain there a moment longer. The Rangers gathered about the still form of their friend; Alpha confirmed that every scan said this was Aura, and she was indeed dead. * * * 

Azure stormed through the park, unable to see anything through her tears._ If I ever see Zedd again, in person, not on the Viewing Globe, I'm going to kill him. I wonder if I can talk Zordon and Alpha into teleporting me to the moon, so I can destroy him personally!_

"Azure," the voice was soft, gentle, and loving. She whirled, jumping in fright at the same time, to see the Spirit of Earth standing there, a tender expression on her face. 

"Spirit!" Azure couldn't even smile for the Spirit of Earth; it reminded her too much of Aura. "You scared me." 

The spirit apologized as Azure wiped the tears from her face. "Why do you weep so?" the ethereal lady asked. Azure was barely able to control her emotions as she choked out, 

"Aura. . .is. . .dead. . ." 

The reply was completely unlike what Azure had expected. "Nonsense." 

"I _saw_ her body. She_ is_ dead!" Azure didn't want comfort, didn't want to be soothed. She wanted to scream and rage and cry at the loss of her sister. 

"You saw a body. Not hers. She is my other half, the physical manifestation of the Earth, as I am it's spiritual. She is alive." 

Azure looked at the Spirit, could feel the conviction flowing off her in waves. "She. . .she is?" 

"Yes," the Spirit nodded. "She is not on Earth, though. I can feel her presence, and know she is alive. But I can only pinpoint her location while she is _on_ Earth. But she is alive." 

"Mind telling that to Billy?" Azure suggested. Billy needed to hear this even more than she did. 

"Yes, he must know," the Spirit nodded and held out her hand to Azure. As the young woman put her hand into that of the Spirit, she sighed a little. _It's almost like being with Aura. They are so much alike; they really are a part of each other._

They were in the Command Center a moment later. Billy looked up at them through his tears, he was still bent over the body. The Spirit came over and placed a hand on his shoulder. 

"Take heart, beloved of my Ranger. All is not lost." 

"How can you say that!" Billy spat out the words. "She's dead!" 

The Spirit shook her head, not even deigning to look at the corpse. "That is not Aura." 

"Not Aura?" Billy stared. "How can it not be?" 

"Who sent this thing to you saying it was Aura?" the Spirit asked; though it was evident she already knew. 

"Zedd," Billy whispered, his eyes hardening as he perceived the evil plot Zedd had obviously had in mind. The Spirit nodded her agreement. 

"Zedd is a master of trickery and deceit, but he cannot fool me when it comes to Aura. She lives still, but I do not know where. I can only sense that her life continues, and that she is in great pain." 

Azure nodded. "Then we're going to have to try harder to find her." 

Adam's eyes widened suddenly as a thought struck him. "What if. .." he paused for a moment, trying to sort out what he was thinking of. 

"What is it, Adam?" Tommy asked, looking at his friend. Adam took a deep breath and tried again. 

"What if Zedd thought. . .that we thought Aura was dead? He'd lower his defenses around her, and make it easier for us to get her out of there." 

The Rangers exchanged glances all around, then Billy nodded slowly. "I think it might work. But we don't want to announce this to the world; she had one 'death' already; if another one occurs, then people might start getting a bit suspicious." 

"What do we tell people, then?" Aisha wondered. Rocky shrugged and suggested, "Maybe that she isn't feeling well; and went to visit relatives for a while to get better?" 

Kat agreed, "That sounds like a good idea. It'll explain why she's not here, and why she didn't take the twins or Billy; she wouldn't want them to 'catch' what she has." 

Azure picked Alaina out of the playpen and held her up suddenly. "Spirit, Aura put her Amber necklace on Alaina. Do you know why?" 

The Spirit smiled a little, then crossed over to pick up Alexander. She turned with him in her arms to face Alaina, and watched as the baby boy reached out to touch the necklace around his sister's neck. 

The amber stone glowed suddenly, bringing back memories to them all of when Aura learned just who she was. An amber mist formed above them, then cleared to show Aura standing there. They recognized the scene behind her as being the park, and from the expression on her face, Billy realized she had to have done this just before giving herself to Zedd. Her image spoke softly. 

"If you guys are seeing this, then the twins are safe, and I was able to give my necklace to Alaina, and this message was activated by Alexander touching it. The Spirit of Earth taught me how to do this, so I figured I'd give you all one last message from me. I really don't know if I'll ever see you again, so this is just in case I don't," she took a deep breath and looked around. "I don't know how much time I have before Zedd gets here, so I'm going to have to make this short. Billy, I love you. I can't say that enough, or with enough passion in it. You are the love of my life, my strength when I'm weak, my courage when I'm afraid, my laughter when I'm sad. No matter what, you'll always be in my heart, as I hope I will always be in yours. 

"Azure, we grew up as sisters, and will be sisters until time's end. I wish you and Adam luck in your life together; and don't look as surprised as I know you must be. I've known you all my life, and I know you two are meant for each other. I just hope I can be there, somehow, when you're married. I want you two to have all the happiness that Billy and I have had, and more besides. 

"Adam, if you don't ask Azure to marry you sometime soon, you're going to get a_ harsh_ surprise when. . .or if. . .I get out of here. Believe me, when the Guardian of the Earth tells you to propose, you do it!" Aura's image chuckled lightly, and they all looked at Adam to see him blushing severely, while Azure clutched at his hand, even redder than he was. Aura spoke again. 

"My friends and fellow Rangers, I cannot tell you what an honor it has been to stand by your side and fight with you. Though your lives have changed dramatically since Azure and I moved back to Angel Grove, I like to think it's also been for the better: at least some parts of it," she smiled ruefully. "Some of it I could have definitely done without, though," she sighed a little, glancing at her watch. "My time's almost up. Good-bye, all of you, and Billy, never forget how much I love you." 

The image faded away, and as one, the Rangers turned to Billy. He collapsed, tears racking his body. "Oh, Aura. . .my Aura. . .come back to me. . .," he whispered. "Come back to me. . ..I love you so much." * * * 

Another three days dragged by, and they were no closer to find Aura than they had been when it all began. Azure and Adam finally had to almost literally drag Billy out of the Command Center for some air and time away from the search. If they hadn't, they both knew he would have stayed on until he collapsed. 

"It's good to have some fresh air," Azure said softly as they sat in the park. It was a beautiful day; the only thing marring it being that there were only three of them there: not the usual foursome they were in. Aura's absence was almost like a physical blow to them all. 

Adam nodded. "I can't believe we actually got Billy out of the Command Center," he said in a low tone. Billy was a few feet away, and as Adam said that he glanced over to them. 

"Okay, I need to go look for Aura now," Azure and Adam both stared in outrage at him. 

_"Billy!"_

"What?" Billy looked at Azure. "I have to find her! Who knows what they're doing to her! You saw what she looked like when Zedd showed her to us!" 

Adam shook his head and spoke softly. "Billy, he lied about Aura being dead. How do you know he didn't lie about that as well?" 

Azure put a hand on Billy's shoulder. "She's going to be fine. Aura is one tough Ranger. She's probably going to be more upset that you aren't taking care of yourself while she's there!" 

Adam chuckled. " Do you want her mad at you when she gets back?" 

Billy shook his head, smiling a little. "No, she has a tendency to hit in sensitive areas!" 

"There!" Azure pointed to the ground. "Now, sit down and relax!" 

Billy sat, but he didn't look in the slightest bit relaxed. "I know she's tough, but she's never been with them this long before." 

Azure glanced at him. "I know," she whispered. She didn't want to show the distress that had been eating at her since she had learned of Aura being in Zedd's power. "But she's going to be all right." 

Adam put a hand on Azure, then one on Billy. "Remember, Aura has the strength of the Earth itself. She can deal with a lot." 

A snore from Billy was the only reply to this as he fell into a deep sleep. Adam chuckled, then glanced up as Azure touched his hand lightly. "Adam. . .that day when Zedd's spell hit us. You asked me something, I think. . .or maybe it was a dream. . ." 

Her voice trailed off as she looked at him hopefully. Adam smiled a little; he'd been wanting the chance to continue that conversation for over two weeks now. "Yes, Azure. I asked you to marry me. It wasn't a dream." 

She smiled and hugged him. "This isn't quite the way I imagined the proposal," she told him. "And I certainly wanted Aura here to be one of the first to know." 

"Remember her message? She knew before we did, I think," Adam chuckled. "Well, Azure? Will you marry me?" 

"Do you even have to ask?" she smiled as she kissed him deeply. "I love you, Adam Park, and have since the moment I saw you. Yes, I'll marry you." * * * 

Aura had recovered from the torture, and the fact Goldar hadn't been in to renew it had helped her immensely. The lights were kept dim in here, except when they were coming to torment her again, and she was slowly becoming to fear the increase in light that meant they were coming. She had no idea how long she'd been here; but she'd noticed changes already. She'd lost weight and muscle tone, to start with. Hanging by your wrists and being beaten on a fairly regular basis wasn't quite the best exercise regimen in the world, and her diet was the absolute pits. Not wanting to let her go even for a minute, Rito was often the one who forced food down her throat, and she'd regurgitated it most of the time, not wanting anything they gave her in her stomach. 

_Better safe than sorry,_ she thought to herself after one particularly vile 'meal'. _Who knows what they've put in that stuff. I swear, I think some of it was moving!_

In the middle of her thoughts, the door slammed open and the lights flared into full brilliance. She winced away as much from the sudden illumination as from Zedd's swaggering entrance. 

"I have a present for you, Amber Ranger!" he proclaimed as he came over to her. She glared at him as best she could with her eyes still adjusting to the light. 

"The only present I want from you is to let me go!" she snapped. She wanted a bath, she wanted full clothing, real food, and to sleep for about twenty-four straight hours in her own bed with her beloved Billy right next to her. Zedd laughed as he raised his staff, transforming it into a boa constrictor. 

As Aura realized what it was he held, she went chalk-white. Of all things natural, there was nothing she feared more than a snake. "You like?" he asked tauntingly as he stepped closer to her, holding the creature out to her. 

"Ta. . .take it away!" she screamed, trying to get away from the thing. She could hear her heart pounding so loudly she was surprised it didn't burst out of her chest, her eyes were round with fear, and the only thing she wanted was to get away from that slithering thing! 

"What!" Zedd laughed. "You dare to refuse a gift from Lord Zedd?" 

"Take it away!" Aura wailed, twisting her chains in an effort to escape the hideous creature. Her entire body shook with fear as Zedd dropped the snake and let it slither towards her. He gestured, and the image of Billy's funeral appeared before her. 

"This is something you _may_ want to see," he told her. She watched in terror as the Rangers buried her husband, and she could actually identify people, the image was that clear and vivid. Her parents, his parents, the twins were being held by Azure and Adam, Shaya was there, with her family, and every last person was crying. 

"Billy," she whispered. "No. .. you can't be dead." 

Zedd laughed. "Oh, but he is. And eventually. . .after an _extremely_ long time here in my dungeons, you will join him," he headed for the door, leaving the snake slithering around her ankles. "I will leave you to consider everything you have seen! Enjoy your new friend, Amber Ranger!" 

The sound of the door slamming echoed in her ears, but she didn't notice. All she saw was the snake curling around her, tongue flickering in and out, staring at her with flat, dead eyes. Aura Robinson Cranston, the Amber Ranger, could take it no longer. 

She fainted. * * * 

Zedd entered the throne room, chuckling. Rita, who had been observing the mourning of the Rangers, turned to him. "What are you so happy about?"_ He gets all the fun of torturing the Amber Ranger. She's been here almost three weeks, and I haven't even been able to kick her around any! _

"Everything is going according to my plans!" he told her. He'd explained roughly what he had in mind to her even before Aura had been brought to the palace. He'd spent three months planning the Amber Ranger's destruction, and it looked as if all was going well. 

"Really?" she smiled wickedly._ As long as she dies, it doesn't matter who does it! My wonderfully wicked husband will see to that!_

"Soon," Zedd promised, "the Amber Ranger will only be a shell of her former self!" he noticed the slightly left-out look in Rita's eyes and hurried to include her in his plans. "Now we work together! We will bring her down to destruction, and then when she's nothing but a memory, we will destroy the other Rangers!" 

"Good!" Rita declared. "I was beginning to get bored without someone to torture!" _And you've kept her to yourself since you brought her here!_ "How did she like the snake?" 

"By now, she's passed out!" Zedd told her, laughing at the remembrance of the fear in Aura's eyes at the sight of the slithering serpent. 

"And I thought she was supposed to be a fearless warrior!" Rita's hands were itching to get a crack at this supposedly great Ranger. _The Earth's chosen Ranger. Just a helpless little toy in our hands!_

"Not any longer!" Zedd glanced down at the park to where Adam, Azure, and Billy were relaxing. "Soon, Rangers. . .soon you will _crumble!_ Just like your little Amber friend!" * * * 

Two harsh days crept by, with the only new developments being that Aura suddenly vanished off all their scanning equipment again. Billy literally moved into the Command Center, refusing to leave it for a second as he searched everywhere he could find for her. 

Azure and Adam finally forced him to go home and spend some time away, threatening to sedate him until Aura was rescued if he didn't behave. They both took up guard positions in his room, to make sure he didn't try and teleport out when their backs were turned, and for once, they stopped making out at every opportunity. They were too busy making sure Billy didn't kill himself trying to find Aura. 

In the Command Center, the other Rangers took up the search, doing everything within their power to punch through Zedd's defenses and find the Amber Ranger. Rocky was taking his turn on them, since they were working in shifts to make sure none of them fell prey to the same exhaustion that had claimed Billy, when his eyes suddenly went wide at the readout he was given. 

"What is it, Rock?" Tommy asked, noticing the surprise in the Red Ranger's eyes. 

"I, uh, I think I _found her!_" he shouted. The Command Center echoed with curious questions, and finally Rocky yelled, "_I found Aura!_" he hit the communications screen, sending the message to Azure, Adam, and Billy. Almost before the good news finished transmitting, Billy was in the Command Center, looking happier than he had in three weeks. 

"You found her?" he asked, tingling with excitement at the thought of being reunited with his wife and love. 

"Yeah!" Rocky nodded. Adam patted the now hyper young man on the back. 

"Way to go, Rocky!" they watched as Billy started to run a scan of his own, checking the defenses to see how to get Aura out of here. The smile on his face flickered, then faded suddenly. Azure looked at him, her own cheer fading in the reflection of his. 

"Billy?" she asked gently, hoping that she didn't get the bad news she already suspected was coming. Billy pushed himself away from the consoles and sighed deeply. 

"We can't get her out," he said dully. Azure felt a chill going down he spine. 

"What?" 

He explained. "There's a barrier up, and from the readings I'm getting, it's in layers. It could take _weeks_ to punch through it all: if at all." 

"Damn," Azure and Adam said in unison. Tommy put a comforting hand on Billy's shoulder. 

"We'll get through it, even if we have to dig _under_ the place to get to her!" the White Ranger tried to reassure him. 

"Why can't they ever just give up. Give me back my wife?" he would have cried if he were alone; there was no greater torture for Billy than to be deprived of the one he loved so much. Azure placed a hand on his other shoulder and stared at him with warm, luminous eyes. He could sense the same concern for Aura that he had, and knew one thing: they weren't going to stop until they had her free. 

No matter how long it took. * * * 

Zedd and Rita entered the dungeon together this time, arm in arm. Aura was in a half-doze, more of a faint than anything else, the snake still slithered around the cell, hissing at her every now and then. She was pale from being away from the sun for so long, thin, and weak. As they stood before her, her eyes flickered open and she looked at them. There was no longer any life or defiance there, she was simply too frightened and hurt to do anything anymore. 

"Did you enjoy your little nap?" Zedd asked, staring at her and enjoying the sight of her being helpless. Aura turned her head away from them, one of the few things she still had the strength to do. 

"She doesn't speak?" Rita cackled. "What, does the cat have your tongue?" they were both disgusted a moment later when Aura managed to spit at them. "Ew, that's gross!" Rita raised her staff and shot a couple of rattlesnakes out of the end of it. They were rewarded by hearing a full-strength shriek of terror from Aura. 

"No! Take them away, please!" 

"Why?" Rita quickly realized why it had taken Zedd so long to invite her in to help with the torture; there was a perverted, exotic pleasure to causing such fright by such a simple means. 

"I. . .," _I won't tell them why I hate these things, I'm going to have **some** secrets from them if it's the last thing I do! _"Please, just take them away!" she wasn't ashamed of the tears that poured down her cheeks, there was sheer raw terror flowing through her. 

"Tell me why and I _might_!" Rita told her. Aura didn't believe a word of that; she had come to know her enemies well, too well, during her time here. But she would say something. 

"I. . .I'm afraid of them, please. . .," she whispered, her pulse racing. _Please, let her believe that and take them away! _

"Not good enough! They stay!" Rita laughed as the snakes curled around just under Aura's feet, which hung a few inches off the ground. Zedd spoke up then. 

"How would you like to see your precious Rangers again? What they are doing now?" 

"Why do you keep torturing me like this?" she asked softly, the tears coming even faster now. "Why don't you just kill me?" 

Zedd laughed as the image formed before them. "It's more fun like this!" Aura couldn't help herself, she stared at the portal that was her only way to see the world and the people she longed for so much. What she was shown nearly broke her heart. "Awww. .. how sweet," Zedd laughed. "The Black Ranger and your sister are getting married!" 

Aura watched as Adam and Azure exchanged vows. Rocky was there as best man, and Kat was maid of honor. Aura remembered how Azure had promised her that Billy would be best man and she would be matron of honor, and tears flowed down her cheeks as she realized Billy was dead. 

"I. . .I wish them. . .," her resolve crumbled. "_I want to be there!"_

"Pity," Zedd said coldly. She begged once again to be released, which simply gave Zedd the opportunity to tell her, "Sorry, you stay here!" he was having too much fun tormenting her! 

"Then kill me!" she cried out. "Please, stop doing this to me!" _Stop showing me things I'm missing! Stop showing me the life I don't have anymore!_

"I don't think the Ranger likes us anymore!" Rita laughed as Aura's head slumped over and she dissolved into pure tears of heartbreak and loss. Zedd motioned Rita to follow him out of the cell; it was time for the next stage in his master plan to crush every bit of strength from the Amber Ranger. 

"Aura!" Aura's head snapped up at the calling of her name, to see a face she knew as well as she knew her own. Her heart beat a little faster with joy. 

"F. .father?" she looked into the face of Neras Alanatrius, the last Amber Ranger. He strode over to her, a ghostly form, but still powerful and looking very upset. 

"You disappoint me," he said quietly, staring at her with accusing eyes. Her heart sank; this was one of her worst nightmares come true! 

"Father, no," she whispered, shaking her head. 

"You gave up too quickly," he told her. "Now you're just a weakling prisoner! If you had waited another minute, your friends would have been awake!" 

"He had my children still," she pointed out, her heart breaking at the thought of her father being so disappointed with her. From the moment she'd learned who and what she was, and who her father had been, she'd longed for his approval, to know that he was proud of the child he had sired and then been forced to send away. 

"You are a fool!" Neras snapped at her. "This isn't the first time you _willingly_ gave yourself into the powers of evil!" 

The image of herself and Azure coming to save Billy and Adam flashed through her mind. "Father, I never did! I was captured or tricked every time!"_ Or using myself as a distraction. . ._

"Were you?" he glared, and she recoiled from the hate in his eyes. 

"Yes, I was!" she declared. She shrank back when he retorted, "Then you are an even greater weakling than I thought you were!" 

"Father!" Aura screamed. "Why are you saying this to me? Why didn't you ever come to me before? When I needed you?" 

"I had not deemed it necessary!" he snarled. Aura did her best to fight back, to defend herself and her actions with the only weapon she had against his scorn: the questions that had plagued her for two years. 

"Father, I spent years not knowing that I was the Amber Ranger! I could have used your help!" 

Neras shook his head. "You are not worthy of the powers! I wanted a boy, someone who was strong to carry on the tradition, not a weakling daughter!" 

"Father, I did my best!" she screamed, not knowing anymore if the pain in her heart was because of his dislike of her, or the tortures she'd undergone here. 

"Your best isn't good enough!" he told her, laughing at her tears. "See how weak you are!" 

"F. . father, I protected Earth," she whispered through her sobs. "I did my best. . ." 

"Earth is _not_ your home!" he lashed out at her. "It's your fault Kalakan is gone!" 

There was no defense against that, because Aura knew in her heart that was the one thing she could be blamed for. If she had never fled to Kalakan, believing Zedd's lies, then he couldn't have destroyed it. 

"I can no longer stand the sight of you!" Neras declared. "You are no longer my child, you _destroyer_ of my home!" 

He faded away, and as Aura sank down as far as her chains would let her, crying, Zedd and Rita watched from the throne room. Rita laughed. "That illusion was perfect, Zedd!" 

"Of course it was!" the lord of evil congratulated himself. "I knew Neras, and I know exactly what he would have said and done if he really _were_ ashamed of her!" 

"We've won, Zedd, we've really won against her! That was the greatest blow of all struck against her!" 

Zedd nodded. "But I'm still not done with her! Or with the Rangers!" he spared another glance for the weeping Amber Ranger. "If she thinks she hurts now, she has a lot to learn. She hasn't even begun to feel pain!" * * * 

Days passed, long, lonely days for Billy. Aura had been gone nearly a month, and every day was another day in which she might die before they could find her. He quietly looked over some of the data, glancing up when Adam asked, "Any luck?" 

He shook his head, then looked back over the figures again. His eyes widened suddenly as his mind made a connection it never had before. "Wait!" he said abruptly. I think I've got it!" 

Everyone looked up as Billy ran to the computer and started punching numbers into it. "You do?" Adam asked, not really feeling that much hope anymore. Billy nodded. 

"I don't believe this; it's so simple!" he started to give his 'simple' explanation, which not one of them could understand. Adam nodded blankly. 

"If you say so," he muttered. "Think we should get the others here?" 

Billy nodded. "I'll have her home in minutes! You call them, it's going to take me a few minutes to get the equations ready anyway," he glanced over at Adam briefly, smiling. "And have someone bring the twins, too." 

A few moments later, the Rangers, Azure, and the twins were all there. Azure smiled ecstatically. "You found a way to get her back?" 

Billy nodded. "She should be here in about two minutes," he promised. There was a conviction in his voice they hadn't heard in the past four weeks. As Azure hugged Adam happily, Billy told them, "Everything is in motion, all we can do now is wait!" 

"I can't believe she's been there a whole month!" Azure sighed. "And now we're going to bring her home at last!" * * * 

Zedd laughed as the huge snakes he'd made started to crawl and circle around Aura's legs. She asked, trembling, her voice stuttering, "H. .how long have I been here?" she'd lost all sense of time, and wanted at least to know that much. 

"A whole month!" Rita told her as the biggest snake began to circle both of Aura's legs. The Amber Ranger looked down at the thing crawling up her body, and fainted. Rita and Zedd laughed evilly, then the dark sorceress asked, "How long til we do away with her, Zedd?" 

"Not much longer," Zedd had almost exhausted his evil imagination in the last month. "I want the Rangers to see her die!" 

"Excellent!" Rita laughed, then frowned quickly. "But don't they already think she's dead?" 

Zedd remembered the trick he'd played on the Rangers; and how easily they'd fallen for it. "You are right. Oh, well, let's just get rid of her now then! Awaken, Amber Ranger!" 

Aura didn't move, until Zedd growled, "Wake up! Or I kill your sister slowly!" that was what it took to get her to open her eyes; even in the depths of despair and pain, Aura wouldn't let anyone hurt Azure. 

"What now?" she whispered. "What more are you going to do?" 

"That is better," Zedd approved of her obedient wakefulness. "Time to die!" 

Aura whispered the two words that she had never thought to utter towards her enemies. "Thank you. . .."_ At last it's over. I'll miss you, Billy, Alaina, Alex. . .more than I can say. Oh, Azure, be strong. . Adam, be with her. . ._

Zedd raised his staff and prepared to lash out with the most powerful beam of evil magic at his disposal, when Aura suddenly shimmered and vanished, along with the snake around her. "No!" he roared in outrage. 

"What is this? How?" Rita screeched. "This isn't supposed to be happen!" 

"The Rangers! They tricked us!" Zedd declared. Rita wailed loudly. 

"They were supposed to be heartbroken, grief-stricken over her loss!" 

Zedd snarled, "They must have discovered my trick! Blast them!" he stamped his staff against the ground, the entire palace glowing red with his rage. "Those Rangers will pay!" * * * 

The Rangers stared as a person they hadn't seen in a month appeared in the middle of the Command Center, a large snake wrapped around the lower half of her body. As Azure saw the thing around her sister, she muttered, "Damn," knowing full well Aura's fear of snakes, and why she hated them so much. Alpha hit a couple of buttons, teleporting the creature away. 

"What is it?" Rocky asked, noticing Aura hadn't stopped shaking once. He'd never seen Aura that scared of anything; except during that one brief time after she'd returned from Kalakan. Azure was already beside Aura, holding her. She glanced back at the Red Ranger. 

"Aura is terrified of snakes," she told him. She turned back to Aura, stroking what was left of her once splendid mane of black hair. "It's okay, I'm here, it's all over, you're safe," she whispered over and over again, hoping to get through to her still shaking sister. Billy came up to her, rubbing her shoulders gently, hoping to get her attention without scaring her. 

"Aura? Honey? It's me, Billy," rage filled him as he saw what they'd done to her. Her hair had been cut short, she had bruises and cuts all over her body, and her clothes were nothing more than rags. 

Aura looked up, her eyes barely able to focus on the familiar beloved face above her. "Bi. . .Billy?" her voice was nothing more than a whisper. 

"Yes, it's me," he told her gently. It broke his heart to see disbelief in her eyes. What she said next hurt him even more. 

"You. ..you're dead. . ." he shook his head, swearing he'd get Zedd one day for doing this to Aura. 

"I assure you, I'm quite alive. That was one of Zedd's illusions," he told her. _What did they do to her to make her think that? What else have they done to her?_

"Billy. ..," she whispered, throwing herself into his arms and crying with all her heart. "Oh, Billy, you're alive!" 

"I have missed you," he told her, wrapping his warm arms around her tightly. "You don't know how much I've missed you." 

"Th. . they said I was there. .. a month," she whispered. Billy nodded. 

"You were. We've been trying to get you out ever since this whole thing started. There are some other people here who want to see you," Aura looked up as Billy said that, to see her children and her sister sitting hear her. 

"Azure, Alex, Alaina," she whispered, tears flowing even faster as she remembered the scorn her father's ghost had treated her with. 

"Yeah, they're all here," Billy held her, still feeling her trembling body in his arms. 

"We all are," Tommy said gently. "Welcome home, Aura." 

"I'm home," she whispered. "I'm really home." 

Azure nodded. "But first, before we get really into the hugging and welcome backs, let Alpha treat those wounds," Aura managed to nod her agreement, and as Alpha tended to her, a soft breeze blew through the Command Center. Everyone looked up as a gentle voice spoke, "Aura." 

Aura's eyes filled with tears as she saw the Spirit of Earth. "Oh, Spirit. . .I saw. . ." her voice failed her. 

"What?" the Spirit asked gently, encouraging her. Aura whispered, "My father." 

The incarnation of all life on Earth stepped closer to her chosen warrior. "Aura, I can help you understand the things they did to you, help you heal from them, inside and out. If you trust me." 

She held her hand out to Aura, who took it gladly, eagerly. "Always." 

"We will return soon," with no more than that promise from the Spirit, they both vanished. Azure and Billy stared, unable to believe she'd been taken away again so fast. 

"Not again!" * * * 

"We had her! We'd had her for a month! They were supposed to think she was dead!" Rita screeched as she stormed up and down the throne room. 

"Nevertheless, she is useless to the Rangers now!" Zedd reminded Rita. Aura had no confidence, no self-esteem, no strength left after what they'd done to her. 

"And we had a month of fun out of it!" Rita smiled nastily._ Or should I say, you had a month of fun! I was barely able to do anything to her in the measly week I had!_

"She will never recover!" Zedd laughed; he'd gotten that much of his revenge at least. The Amber Ranger would never stand against him again. 

"I _still_ can't believe how easy it was to break her!" 

"Too easy!" Zedd laughed. "But most certainly enjoyable!" Rita was looking towards Earth. 

"Zeddy," she said, voice trembling with confusion and worry. 

"What is it?" 

"She. . .she's not with the Rangers!" 

Zedd leaped to the balcony and scanned Angel Grove, and what he could scan of the Command Center, which wasn't much. "What?" 

Rita ran her Repulsascope over the whole world. "She's not on Earth at all!" 

"This isn't possible!" Zedd raged. _There's nowhere that she could go that we can't find her!_

"They would have never let her leave, not in the condition she was in!" 

"Blast it!" Zedd suddenly knew what had happened. "It must be that damn spirit!" 

Rita looked concerned. "Could the Spirit heal her? Completely? Even after all we did to her?" 

"That is one thing that we will have to wait and see," Zedd said. He really didn't want all that work he'd put into quenching Aura's warrior spirit to go for nothing. 

"I hope not. We went to a lot of trouble to destroy her!" 

Zedd shrugged, feeling a touch philosophical. "If not, we try another route. I will have my revenge!" 

"Yes," Rita agreed. "I don't think the Spirit can do anything for her! The worst thing we did was make her think her father's ghost hates her, and she'll never know the truth! Her father's been dead for fifty thousand years!" 

Zedd laughed. "Yes, she won't know the truth until after she meets his ghost: when _she_ dies!" * * * 

Azure sighed, looking at where Aura had been only moments before. "I hope she's going to be all right." 

Billy nodded, still somewhat in shock. "She didn't look good, not good at all," he couldn't get her frightened, almost lifeless eyes out of his mind. The sight of them tore at his heart completely. 

"She'll be fine," Adam reassured him. "The Spirit will make sure of that," he was holding Azure's hand gently, and she smiled as she looked at it. 

"I hope so," Billy sighed. Azure touched his shoulder gently. 

"She will be." 

"I wonder how long she'll be gone this time?" Billy thought almost to himself. _At least I know now she's coming back. I have that assurance. The Spirit won't let anything happen to her._

Rocky sat in front of Billy, trying to cheer up his friend. "She shouldn't be gone for too long. She's got those characteristic Ranger quick healing abilities. And if you need help with the twins, just call me. I like baby-sitting them." 

Billy smiled. "Thanks, Rocky. But it's not just her physical injuries I'm worried about. You saw how afraid she was of that snake. If they knew of her fear of them, what else could they have known, and used to torture her with? It's her mind I'm worried over!" 

"Billy, if I can get over what happened to me, I think she can recover from what they did to her." 

Billy sighed and nodded his agreement to Azure's statement. "I hope so. I want my Aura back." 

"You'll have her back soon," Azure promised him. "The Spirit of Earth will see to that." 

Billy smiled a little, and Azure chuckled a touch. "It's good to see you smile again." 

"I'll smile even more when she's home to stay," Billy promised. He looked around at his friends, his sister-in-law, and his children. The burden that had been on his heart for the past month was gone at last. He looked down at his left hand, at the wedding ring he hadn't even considered removing, even when things were at their darkest. 

_Come home soon, Aura. I love you._

**The End**


	21. Farewell Amber

**Farewell Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

The next day, Azure and Adam announced they were going to be taking a camping trip up to Angel Grove Forest; to get away from the city for a while, and to relax now that Aura was safely rescued from Zedd and was now healing with the Spirit of the Earth. As they packed up for the trip, Azure glanced over at Billy, who was sitting on the Robinsons' front porch. He wasn't as depressed as he had been for the past month, with Aura captive in Zedd's dungeon, but he also wasn't as happy as he'd been before all this had begun. 

"I don't like leaving him here like this," Azure sighed, glancing at her brother-in-law. She was just as worried about him as she was about Aura. 

"He'll be all right," Adam reassured her. "I hope," he whispered the last two words as he too looked at his best friend, looking so forlorn and lost without Aura._ I hope the Spirit of Earth brings her back soon. Billy needs her so much, and she needs him._

"He'd better be," Azure slid the tent into Adam's car. They were going to be leaving the next morning, but wanted to have every packed, so all they'd have to do was get in the car and drive to their campsite. 

Adam glanced first at his communicator then at hers, a grin at his lips. "Don't worry, if anything goes wrong, we can be back in a flash." 

Azure chuckled. "If they only knew!" 

Adam nodded. "I know," the two of them had a special surprise planned for this weekend; one that no one would ever forget. 

Azure frowned for a second. "Do you think they're going to be mad at this one?" 

Her fiancé shrugged. "I hope not," _it's possible they will be; especially Aura and Billy. But this is the safest way._

"Mad at what?" Billy asked. They hadn't even noticed him coming up next to them! He moved so quietly at times, it was amazing. 

"Oh, nothing," Adam said innocently. He wasn't going to give away any secrets he didn't have to! What he and Azure had planned was just their business for now. Billy looked at him; they'd been friends too long for Adam to hide something. 

"If you say so, but I don't believe it!" 

"Why not?" Adam used his best 'I'm totally innocent' voice. Billy wasn't buying it, though, this time, if he ever really had. Adam didn't mind; it was the first time in a month he'd been anything like his old self. 

"I know you too well!" Billy said, looking from one of them to another. "Both of you!" 

Azure did her level best to look hurt and wounded at his accusation, as did Adam. "Ye of little faith!" she told him. Billy laughed, then glanced briefly back at the Robinson house, then at his own old home next to it. He sighed deeply. 

"I miss her so much," they could tell he was speaking more to himself than to them, but they heard it. They also heard the unalloyed love and longing in his voice. Adam put a hand on Billy's shoulder. 

"She'll be home soon, all better!" he promised her. Billy sighed. 

"I hope so. I really do." 

Adam pointed out, "At least now we know she's safe. The Spirit would never let her come to harm as long as they're together. Besides, they can form the Guardian of the Earth; no one in their right mind messes with _that_!" 

"I just wish we knew where she is," Billy glanced up at what had been Aura's window again; remembering the countless times he'd done that, worrying over her. _Will we ever be left alone to live our lives in peace?_

"Probably in the Heart of Earth," Adam suggested. "It's the most logical place, and the safest place for them. No one will bother them there," Azure nodded and added her own advice. 

"And she's showing Aura the _truth!_" 

"Whatever they did to her, whatever lies they poisoned her with, all the damage they did to her body, mind, heart, and soul. . .she'll be healed when she comes back," Adam reminded him. Billy sighed and nodded. 

_I know. I know when I see her again, she'll be her old self. But I want to see her again; I can't wait any more! I want you back, Aura! _Billy sat back down, wishing above all else to see Aura's beautiful face coming out of the house, to hear her voice telling him everything was fine. 

Azure smiled and whispered gently, just loud enough for Adam to hear her, "And she's in for a surprise when she gets back," Adam's only response was a light, brief nod. All the Rangers were in for one big surprise before that weekend was over with. * * * 

"So, the Blue Ranger misses his wife!" Zedd peered down at the Earth, laughing. Ever since Aura had been freed from his dungeon the previous day, he'd been in a foul mood. This, however, seemed to cheer him up somewhat. 

"Let's give her back to him, then!" Rita chuckled evilly. Zedd nodded and called for Finster. The little scientist ran up eagerly. 

"Yes, evil ones?" he asked. Rita and Zedd's minions, except for Goldar and Rito, hadn't had to do anything evil in the past month, and Finster was eager to get back to work. 

"I want a clone of the Amber Ranger. How quickly can you make it?" Zedd ordered. Finster thought quickly; Aura had been hurt badly. . .she'd bled. . .ah, yes! 

"Using the blood that was spilled while she was here, sire, I can have one done in a matter of hours!" Finster reported._ Oh, it's so good to be needed again!_

"Then, what are you waiting for?" Zedd roared. "Go do it, now!" Finster fled down to the dungeons to get the blood; he hated it when Zedd screamed at him. 

"What shall we have our clone do, Zeddy?" Rita wondered. "There's so much that can be done with a duplicate!" 

"Quite true," Zedd nodded, remembering the evil clone of Billy they'd created some time back. That clone had stolen the Power Coins and nearly defeated the Rangers. This one would do even more! "Destroy the Blue Ranger and their brats!" 

"The Blue Ranger will be so happy to have his wife back, he won't even _notice_ she's not the real thing!" 

"Yes!" Zedd laughed, anticipating destruction to come that was almost as fun as what he'd done to Aura. A few quiet hours passed while Zedd put the finishing touches on this, his master plan to destroy the Rangers. His thoughts were interrupted when Finster hurried into the throne. 

"I've done it, sires!" he said triumphantly. This was truly a masterpiece of work; no one could tell the difference between what he'd made and the real Aura. 

"Bring her in," Zedd ordered. Finster beckoned to something behind him, and a familiar figure entered. They all stared at the flawless duplicate of the Amber Ranger. Zedd walked over and inspected her minutely. 

"Perfect," he declared. "Even down to the necklace!" This was going to work out even better than if he _had_ killed the real Aura! 

"I am your servant, Lord Zedd," the clone spoke in precise mimicry of Aura. "What do you wish of me?" 

Zedd glanced to the Earth, and smiled nastily. "Go to Earth, impersonate the real Aura, and _destroy_ the Blue Ranger and their children!" 

"At once!" the clone saluted and prepared to be teleported as soon as Zedd decided just where she'd go first. Zedd raised his staff and declared, 

"You're going to the Amber Ranger's sister first; she and the Black Ranger are preparing to leave on a trip. Give them a little surprise. . but remember, wait to destroy Billy until you are alone. Give them no hints that you are not the true Aura." 

"As you wish, my lord," the clone declared. Zedd teleported her to Earth as she continued, "The Rangers won't know what hit them!" 

Things were going just as planned. * * * 

Azure kissed Adam deeply; enjoying the feel of his lips against hers. "Can you believe that in a couple of hours, we will be husband and wife?" she murmured. She didn't want Billy to hear her; he'd gone inside to change the twins' diapers; but you never knew with him. 

"I feel like I've been waiting forever," Adam touched her cheek gently. "For you." 

Azure bit her bottom lip and smiled a little. "You sure know how to make a girl feel good about herself," she told him. Her eyes flicked to something behind him, and went wide in shock as she pulled away. 

"What is it, Azure?" Adam asked. Azure stepped around him and started to run behind him. 

"I can't believe it!" 

"Azure!" The voice Adam heard was a very familiar one, and he turned to see Aura standing there, smiling happily at her. The sisters hugged deeply. 

"You're back!" Azure stared happily at her sister, then turned back to Adam. "Get Billy!" she ordered. Adam ran inside, returning a moment later with Billy, who was holding Alaina in his arms. Not noticing his returned wife, he asked, "What's going on?" 

"Aura's back!" Adam told him. Billy glanced over, his eyes going indescribably wide. He stepped over to her, too scared of a trick to run, but too happy not to come near her. 

"Aura, is that really you?" he whispered. She ran over to him, smiling that smile he knew so well. 

"Of course it's me!" she told him. "Who else would it be?"_ I'm doing this so well, Zedd and Rita are going to be so proud of me. I'm your worst nightmare, that's who I am, but you'll only know that when it's too late!_

"I missed you so much," he wanted to hug her, but couldn't with Alaina in his arms. Azure solved his problem quickly. 

"Let me hold Alaina, you hug your wife!" she smiled as she removed Alaina from him. A moment later, Aura and Billy were wrapped in a rib-cracking hug. 

"Aura," he whispered into her ear. "I love you! I missed you more than I can say!" 

"I love you, too!" Aura smiled again. "I missed you all!" 

Azure glanced to Adam, frowning a touch. "Looks like the camping trip is delayed," she sighed. Aura looked over and raised an eyebrow. 

"You guys were going camping?" 

Adam nodded. "But we can go next weekend!" he told her. 

Aura shook her head. "No, you go on, I'm not going anywhere anymore, you can see me when you get back!" _Especially since that's two less people to get in the way when I strangle the Blue Ranger in his sleep! _

Azure smiled and hugged her tightly. "Aura, I love you!" she went over to Adam. "We'll have a surprise for you when we get back!" 

"Really?" _Not nearly as much of a surprise as you'll get when you find out what went on while you're away!_

Adam checked his watch quickly. "Time to go, Azure, we have to be there in an hour!" 

"You guys have a good time!" Aura giggled. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" 

"What if we do?" Azure chuckled; Aura had totally regained her health and sense of humor it seemed. The Spirit of Earth had worked wonders in just a short amount of time. 

"Then I'd have to kill you!" Aura laughed heartily, as did everyone else. That was so totally "Aura-like"! Azure gave her sister another hug. 

"I missed you, Aura," Azure gave her sister one more hug, then got in the car next to Adam. 

"Bye all," Adam waved as they drove off. Aura waved after them, smiling a little. Billy followed them with his eyes. 

"What are those two up to?" he wondered aloud. Aura shrugged. 

"Don't ask me, I just got here!" 

Billy shifted Alaina to his other arm; Azure had given her back to him just before they'd driven away. "We have so much to catch up on! Say hi to your mother, Alaina!" 

Aura took her into her arms and cuddled her. "I missed you, little girl!" she smiled at her. Alaina squirmed and began to cry heartily; something she'd never done before. "Shhhh, shhhh, it's me, Aura, your mommy!" 

"That's weird," Billy observed._ Alaina's never cried like that before, except when a stranger was holding her. I'll never forget how she wailed when Bulk tried to hold her that one time! But. . .no, this is Aura! _

"I've been gone so long, I hope they haven't forgotten me!" 

"Who could forget you?" Billy teased her a bit. "Let's hope they don't think Alpha's their mother!" 

She giggled. "I hope not!" Billy looked over at her; there was a faint air of weariness all about her. 

"You okay? You look tired." 

"I am tired," she told him. "The Spirit healed me, but I came back before getting a good night's sleep. I missed you all too much to stay away!" 

"Let's get you home then!" he smiled as they went inside to collect Alexander. He glanced at her quickly as they picked their things up. "You going to be able to get home all right?" 

She nodded. "I'll be fine now that I'm back with you!" 

Billy slipped the twins into their stroller, then went over to hug and kiss her. "I can't tell you how much I missed you!" 

"I missed you, too! Let me push the twins!" she smiled as they headed out the door, heading home together for the first time in what felt like forever. It didn't take them long to get back to their place, and as Billy opened the door, he told her, "Welcome home!" 

She sighed as she entered. "It's been so long. I hope I can remember where everything is!" 

"I'm sure you can," Billy reassured her._ It's so good to have her back. Rita and Zedd will never take her from me again, no matter what!_

"I hope so. You know, we need to tell the others I'm back!" Aura smiled and took his hand gently as they went to their bedroom. "They're going to want to know." 

"Later, after you sleep," Billy told her. "You need your rest; you've had a long. . .month." 

"I know," she sighed as she changed into a gown and slipped into the bed. Billy sat next to her, holding her hand until she fell asleep. Her husband watched her for a while, a gentle smile on his lips._ I love her so much. I'm so glad you're home, my lovely Aura. I've missed you more than I can say. I love you._ * * * 

"Oh, this is too good! He's falling for it!" Zedd laughed with deliciously evil glee. This plan was already going better than he'd expected! 

"He _wants_ to fall for it! That's the best part!" Rita reminded him. Watching the Blue Ranger go so swiftly under their deception was pure delight! 

"Her own sister couldn't even tell the difference!" Zedd laughed in triumph. If Azure, who knew Aura right down to her bones, couldn't tell this wasn't her, then there was no way they could fail! 

"She'll meet the other Rangers tomorrow. Let's hope our clone can keep up the deception!" 

"She will, Rita. We'll make her more believable to them, with some nightmares!" Zedd knew very well what to make her dream; he'd spent the last month forcing the true Aura to live them all! 

"You are evil incarnate, Zedd!" Rita congratulated him. They shared an evil kiss, then returned their gaze to the Earth, as their clone slept a so-far dreamless sleep. . .that was about to change. . . * * * 

Billy smiled as he watched Aura sleep, then yawned. He hadn't rested much himself over the last month, and stretched out on the bed next to her. _Time for some real sleep, at last. With her, where I belong, as she's with me, where she belongs. _

Aura began to toss and turn suddenly, something he'd never seen her do while asleep. She'd always been as immovable as a stone. He looked at her, calling her name gently. She began to mumble in her sleep, "No. . .no. . .ta. . take it away. . ." 

He put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Aura, wake up! You're having a nightmare!" 

She sat up suddenly, her eyes wild, and mouth about ready to drop open into a scream. He quickly wrapped his arms around he. "Aura, it's okay! It was only a dream!" 

She held him quickly, harshly, shaking all over. "Snakes. .snakes, everywhere," she whispered. _Why did I dream like that? Finster told me I couldn't dream, couldn't feel. . .Rita and Zedd must have done it, to make me more look more real to them. If it's their will. . .but I was. . I was really scared. . ._

"It's okay, it was only a dream," Billy's warm arms were around her, and she leaned against him, taking a sudden strength from his presence. 

_I don't believe this. I. . .no, I must remember what I am, I am the creation of Zedd and Rita, a copy of the Amber Ranger, to destroy all the others! What would she say in this situation? I know. _"Oh, Billy, I was so scared while I was there! I Thought you were dead!" 

"I'm not," he lifted her face gently to look into her eyes and spoke softly. What he said filled her heart with a very strange feeling, something she'd never experienced before. "I will never leave you. I love you." 

"I. . .love you," she whispered, staring at him with pure awe in her eyes. _What is this? This . . .feeling inside of me. . .all warm and happy and tingly. . .Is this. . .love? No, it can't be. . .I can't love. . ._

"We'll get through this," he promised her. "Somehow, we will," he smiled gently at her. "There's that old sparkle I missed!" 

She leaned against him again. "I missed you, too," she whispered. _I didn't know love was like this. . .what am I going to do now?_ * * * 

Not many hours later, as Billy slept a deep sleep, the clone slipped away from him and teleported back to the moon, having been summoned by her masters. "How goes your mission?" Zedd wanted to know. 

"Very well," she reported as she bowed. "Billy suspects nothing" 

He nodded sharply. "Good. Tonight, you will destroy him!"_ And I will be rid of the Blue Ranger once and for all!_

"I. . .," she hesitated._ I can't kill him. _"Perhaps the other Rangers first?" 

Zedd glared at her. He didn't like disobedience. "Are you questioning a direct order?" 

She shook her head sharply. "No, of course not, but if the others are gone first, he'd be off-balance, easier to kill!" she hoped she sounded more convincing than she felt! 

"No, I want him destroyed first!" Zedd declared. Rita looked at her, eyes narrowed in thoughtful speculation. 

"I think she's falling for him," the evil queen mused. The clone paled; how had they learned so quickly? Unknown to her, though Rita and Zedd both recognized the expression, she looked exactly as Aura had when they'd had her under the evil Ruby Necklace's control years earlier, and had tried to get her to kill Billy. 

"How could she?" Zedd asked Rita. "She has no heart!" he glanced back at the clone. "You are not a real human, you have no emotions, you were made to destroy the Blue Ranger!" 

"Yes, sire," she whispered._ How did I fall so fast? All it took was a nightmare and to have his arms around me. . .am I that much like the real Aura? That I would love him so much so soon? So completely?_

"And if you disobey us, you will be terminated!" Rita told her, her staff glowing with her rage. 

"I won't disobey," the clone promised. _They can unmake me. I must obey. Oh, Billy, I'm so sorry!_ * * * 

The next day, in the Command Center, Aura and Billy waited nervously for the other Rangers to arrive. Billy was holding her hand, enjoying the feel of her near him. She seemed a bit nervous about something; but after all, it was the first time in a month she'd really seen her friends. 

"You okay?" he asked just as the Rangers teleported in._ I hope everything's all right with her. _

"I'm fine," she told him. _I hate what I must do tonight, Billy. More than you can possibly imagine!_

"Aura?" Tommy looked at her, not believing his eyes. "You're back!" she nodded and smiled at him. 

"I'm back!" 

"All right!" Rocky cheered. "Man, it's a pity Adam and Azure aren't here to see this! They went camping. They would have loved to have seen you before they left!" 

She chuckled. "They did; I came back, just before they left!" 

Aisha laughed. "Those two are up to something!" Alpha turned away as she did, not wanting to reveal what he knew. 

"Really?" Aura smiled. _Oh, this feels so strange, to laugh and smile, and just be with people who care. Is this what being real is like? No wonder people like it so much!_

IT IS GOOD TO HAVE YOU HOME, AURA. Zordon told her. She looked up at him and smiled. 

"It's good to be home," was her assertion. The others began to fill her in on what she missed, and when she heard everything, smiled at Rocky. "Thanks for finding me, Rocky. I owe my rescue to you!" she rewarded him with a sisterly peck on the cheek, which caused the Red Ranger to blush as fiercely as his shirt! * * * 

She watched as he placed another log on the fire. This was the perfect night. What more could she ask for? A warm fire, a beautiful breeze, a full moon, romantic music, and the love of her life right there. He walked over and laid down on the blanket next to her. 

Turning around she wrapped him into a tight, and loving hug. Never wanting to let go, she stared into his deep dark eyes. Nothing in the world could ruin this night for her. 

Azure kissed Adam deeply; this was their wedding night, and there was nothing that could be done to change how wonderful it would be. Suddenly, a memory flickered through her mind that caused her to pull away from him, eyes going wide with fright. 

"Azure, what is it?" he asked, worried. She looked at him, fear in her eyes. 

"Aura. . .that. . Adam, we need to get back to Angel Grove!" 

"Azure, what are you talking about?" Adam wondered. "Aura's home and safe now!" 

"That's not Aura!!!" Adam took one look at her serious expression and had only two words to say. 

"Let's go." 

She was running for the car a moment later. "We can come back for our stuff later!" he grabbed her arm quickly. 

"We need to get to the Command Center," was all he said as he hit his communicator. A moment later, both of them stood in the Command Center. Zordon looked at them worriedly. 

ADAM, AZURE, WHY HAVE YOU RETURNED SO SWIFTLY FROM YOUR HONEYMOON? he asked. He and Alpha were the only ones who had known they planned to elope on this trip. 

"There's something wrong, I know it," Azure told them. "I don't think that's Aura!" 

"Ay-yi-yi, what makes you think that?" 

"Her necklace," Azure told them. Adam looked confused; it was all she could do not to smile; he'd had other things on his mind ever since their trip had began! Obviously those weren't out of his head just yet! 

"She was wearing it when she came to the house, but Alaina still had it on when Billy came out!" Azure explained. Everyone got serious at that point! 

ALPHA, SCAN AURA TO DETERMINE HER IDENTITY. Alpha ran for the computers, and a few moments later turned regretfully to Azure and Adam as they stood there hand in hand. 

"You were right, Azure, that isn't Aura!" he told them. "It's a clone, but it's one that's becoming more and more human with every second!" 

"Oh, man," Adam groaned. "Rita and Zedd are responsible for this!" 

"Billy could be in trouble," Azure was nervous all over again. _Billy doesn't want to believe that isn't Aura! That's why they did this!_

"Come on, we've got to find them!" * * * 

"Sires, I have news!" Finster raced into the throne room, a sheaf of paper in his hands. Zedd glanced casually over at him, wondering what the little inventor was blathering about now. 

"What is it?" 

"The clone I made of the Amber Ranger is becoming human! A real human!" 

Zedd spilled his drink. "HOW?!" 

"I don't know, sire, it's just happening!" Finster told him. "She will become capable of love, friendship, all those icky human emotions! If she hasn't already!" 

"We must stop her," Zedd growled. _If we lose control of her, we will lose everything! _He glanced at the Earth, and was surprised to see Azure and Adam running towards the Cranstons' house. "Blast! They will ruin everything; they must have figured it out!" 

"We have to stop _them!_" Rita declared. Zedd nodded, and raised his staff. The teddy bear Alaina had been playing with suddenly vanished, and appeared outside the house as a seven foot tall monster with fangs like iron and claws of steel. "Attack them, RoboBear!" 

"Yes, master!" the creature declared. This just wasn't going to be Azure and Adam's day it seemed. * * * 

"Hurry up, Adam!" Azure screamed at her lagging husband. A warm feeling flowed through her at that thought, but this was no time for romance. They had to save Billy from whatever Zedd's clone was going to do to him! 

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Adam raced along, only to see Azure stop as one of Zedd and Rita's monsters appeared before them. "Oh, man!" he muttered. A moment later, the Black Ranger was there, ready to defend who he loved 

"Time to cuddle!" RoboBear growled, grabbing Azure in, of all things, a bearhug. Azure screamed in agony as Adam charged up, ready to tear this thing apart. "Not nice, Ranger!" it told him as she was squeezed even tighter. 

"Adam," she whispered. He hit his communicator, calling the other Rangers who arrived a few moments later. He was a bit nervous to see the clone with them, but didn't have time to argue. 

"When did you get back?" Tommy asked. The Black Ranger shook his head. 

"Tell you later, once we've taken this thing down!" he told him. _We don't have time to argue, Tommy, this monster could kill my wife at any moment!_

"I wouldn't, if you want her to live!" RoboBear warned them, squeezing a bit tighter. Azure was as pale as a ghost and gasping for breath as she squeaked out a denial; trying to get the Rangers to stay away. 

Aura stared at the creature, her heart pounding. She alone wasn't morphed; that was one difference between her and the true Aura: she didn't have that link to the Earth that created the Amber Ranger powers. But she couldn't let this continue. "No. stop this, RoboBear. Now." 

"Why should I?" 

Her reply was ice-cold. "Because if you don't, I'll destroy you." 

"Guys?" Adam couldn't believe what he was seeing. Was the clone doing this because it was what Aura would do; to further her disguise? Or could she really care? 

"Stay out of this, Rangers!" she hissed. Tommy tried to talk to he, but she ignored him. 

"I will not stay out of this, she's my. . .," he couldn't say the last word._ My wife._

"I can take care of this!" Aura insisted. A strange feeling was sitting inside of her, something powerful and strong, something that declared in a thousand voices and a thousand different ways _This must not happen! She must be saved!_

"How?" the monster tightened his grip on Azure, who could barely breath at all now. Aura took a deep breath. 

"Like this," she said softly. "Amber Ranger Power!" she glanced down at herself, smiling a trifle. "I didn't really think it would work." 

"That does it!" RoboBear threw Azure against a tree, knocking her further into unconsciousness. "Do your best, she's gone now!" he told Aura, pointing at Azure's motionless body. 

The Rangers stared at this; something was definitely wrong here. The shield Aura normally bore had an image of the Earth on it; but now it was blank! She'd said something about not expecting her morphing to work. . and Adam had stared so strangely at her. . . 

"That's why you're going to die!" she declared. She was moving at almost twice the speed and with twice the strength the true Aura had; yet another difference that Finster hadn't even known would appear. In moments, RoboBear was a bad memory, as Adam knelt by Azure with the others. She stood still for a moment, then demorphed. 

A wave of unbearable weakness swept over her, and she collapsed, into Billy's waiting arms. She looked up at him, into his warm blue eyes. _So this is life and love. . .for a short time, I knew what it was to care. . .they must know what I am. . what I was. . ._

"Aura?" Billy asked, with much love and concern in his voice. What she said started him to his core. 

"B-Billy. .. not Aura. . ." 

"What?" he stared, not believing his ears._ I can't lose her, not again!_

"I'm. . .a clone. . sent to destroy you," she told him. A tear was gathering in his eye. 

"Then how did you morph?" he asked; knowing the bond couldn't be reproduced by cloning. 

"Became more . .human. . love you. . love Azure. . .couldn't. . let her die. . ." 

"Then the. .. ," he couldn't speak. She was fading into nothingness before his eyes and under his arms. 

"Love you," she whispered, then was nothing but dust. Billy looked up, whispering denial._ How could I have lost her again? I had her only for a short time, and now she's gone. . no. . she wasn't Aura. . but. . she was. . ._

"She's dying," he looked over to where Adam and the others were bent over Azure. Tommy picked Azure up gently and got to his feet. 

"Let's get her back to the Command Center. See if Alpha can save her," was his advice. * * * 

Tommy put Azure gently on the examination table, then noticed something on her left hand. He turned to Adam. "Want to tell us something?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Adam paled a bit, then pointed behind Tommy to the glowing remains of the clone; which had somehow been teleported with them. "What the heck?" was the general question noised about at that point. 

"What is it?" Adam wondered. Billy stared; he hadn't' noticed that the dust hadn't flown away, as he'd half-expected it to. 

"The clone's remains," Billy whispered. He told them quickly what she had said before dying, and they all watched as the dust circled Azure, lifting her up and entering her. With eyes wide, they watched as a glow formed around her, then slowly vanished, as she returned to the table. 

"How is she?" Adam asked as Alpha scanned her. The remains were gone now, with the only hint being a light dust on Azure's skin. Alpha looked at him. 

"It's a miracle, Adam! A few moments ago, she was dying, but now! She's completely healed! There' s a few scrapes and bumps still, but she's going to live!" 

Adam ran straight over to Azure and held her hand, calling her name as her eyes opened. "Shh. . you're all right." 

Tommy cleared his throat suddenly. "Want to explain something to us?" 

"What?" Adam wanted to keep this a secret if he could! Tommy picked up Azure's left hand, and Adam's, and pointed to the rings there. 

"This!" Adam looked at Azure, who nodded and gave her permission for him to tell. Quietly, he did so. The first words anyone said after he dropped the bombshell were said by Billy. 

"You did what?" 

"We got married!" he repeated it. Tommy stared. 

"And just why weren't we invited to the wedding, much less told you were engaged?" 

"It was going to be a surprise!" Adam told Tommy quickly. Rocky almost glared at him. 

"It worked!" 

Azure struggled to sit up, only to have Adam stop her. "No, Azure, you're still weak," he told her. He went a bit closer to her at her motion to do so and heard her whispered question. "That. ..wasn't Aura," he told her about the clone in soft tones. Azure sighed; she'd known it all along. She laid back down, drifting off to sleep, and into a dream where her family was all around her, safe, and not having to worry about Zedd, Rita, or anything they might try to do them. * * * 

"This is impossible!" Rita screamed at the top of her lungs. This was absolutely intolerable! 

"Our own clone betrayed us!" Zedd was furious, beyond furious. 

"How? She wasn't supposed to have emotions!" Rita wailed._ But she did! She betrayed us!_

"Finster said she was turning human! This is the last straw!" 

"I have had it with this planet and these Rangers!" Rita declared. She turned to Zedd; expecting him to contradict her. 

"They can keep it! I quit!" Zedd snarled, leaping to his feet. _This is just too much trouble! I'm tired of losing to those pathetic Rangers every time I turn around, but when my own creations turn on me, then it's time to go elsewhere! I'll come back and take this planet in fifty years, when the Rangers are old codgers in nursing homes!_

"Let them have it!" Rita nodded, heading for her spellroom to start packing. 

"Let's go somewhere else!" _Somewhere without all these Rangers around to get in the way!_

"Where do you want to go? I know, we can go visit my father, Master Vile!" 

"Fine, it's about time I met the guy anyway!" Zedd snorted. Rita called out for Rito, Goldar, and the rest of the hired help. "Load up Serpenterra; but first, shall we leave a notice for the Rangers telling them that we are gone?" 

"Such as?" Rita smiled nastily. Zedd always had such evil thoughts, even in times like this! 

"A _bomb_ of a message!" Zedd produced a black box and laughed. 

"Where shall we leave it? Oh, I know!" 

"Where?" 

"The Blue and Amber Rangers' home!" she laughed evilly as Zedd teleported the box to the Cranston residence. They might be leaving, but they were going to leave the Rangers something to remember them by! * * * 

Adam sat next to his sleeping wife, holding her hand gently and watching her like a hawk for any sign of her awakening. The other Rangers were a bit annoyed with them both; since there'd been no huge wedding like Aura and Billy had went through. He knew they'd get over it in time, though. 

Suddenly Alpha exploded into "ay-yi-yi's" all over the Command Center. "What is it?" Tommy asked, eyes wide suddenly._ This is no time for Zedd and Rita to be attacking! _

"A package has appeared in your house, Billy!" Alpha reported. Billy at once ordered it teleported to the Command Center, and placed behind a protective shield. A moment later, it exploded, covering the whole room with. . .confetti. 

"What the?" Adam looked up at the mess, as did everyone else. The images of Zedd and Rita appeared over the box, and said the last thing any of them had ever expected to hear them say. 

"Greetings Rangers!" Zedd told them. "If you are listening to this, that means. . .I quit! You can keep your precious planet, we're leaving!" 

Rocky stared. "No way!" 

"We've got better things to do than conquer this planet!" Rita screamed. "So enjoy your victory, Rangers! Someday, you will be defeated!!" 

Adam's eyes were wide. "We won?" 

"I. . .guess," Rocky stuttered. None of them could believe what they were hearing. Billy smiled. 

"Aura should be happy to hear this message!" he told them. Everyone agreed with him; this had to be the best news they'd ever heard! Azure stirred, her eyes opening suddenly. 

"Adam? Why am I covered in confetti?" she asked. Adam chuckled. 

"Ummm. ..we won," he told her about the message. Azure smiled and laughed. 

"That's nice. Can we go back to our honeymoon now?" 

"Yeah," he watched as she tried and failed to sit up. 

"I think I need some help," she smiled at him as Adam picked her up gallantly. 

"You have but to ask!" he smiled. She leaned against him and whispered, "We still have some unfinished business!" Adam nodded, then glanced over as Rocky laughed at them. 

"I hate to be the one to tell Aura she missed their wedding!" the Red Ranger reminded them. Adam shivered a bit, remembering Aura's temper suddenly. 

"I hope wherever she is, she gets over her tendency to hit in. ..certain areas!" 

"She better not hit you!" Azure smiled. "I hit back!" 

"Let's hope she doesn't! Adam and Azure kissed so passionately there was only one reaction Rocky could have, and he had it! 

"Someone, please hose them off!" he cried out. Tommy giggled as Azure and Adam looked at him, then at Tommy as the White Ranger said, If you two don't calm down. .. " 

"What?" Azure grinned. 

"Then we'll hose you down!" 

"Try and when I'm all better, I kick your butt!" Azure promised him. They all knew she would, too, and Adam held her closer to him. 

"Come on, we've got a honeymoon to finish!" 

"Then get to it, you two!" Tommy smiled as Alpha prepared to teleport them back to their campsite. Azure glanced around, happier than she'd been in so long. . . 

"Let us know the moment Aura. ..the real Aura. . .gets back," she told them. "Thanks again for everything!" 

They were gone a moment later. Tommy looked over at Billy, who was sitting on the floor, looking dejected. "Hey, you okay?" 

"I'll be fine," he sighed a little._ I lost her again. I know it wasn't her. ..but still. . .I lost her. . ._

"Are you sure?" 

"I'll be better once my Aura is back," he said, eyes filling with tears he refused to shed. 

"Come on," Tommy helped him to his feet. "You've got kids to take care of. I'll help!" 

"Thanks," Billy smiled at his friend, then found himself glancing at the Viewing Globe. Images flashed through his mind of the countless times he'd stood there with Aura, or been watching her on it. There was nowhere he could go, he knew, where Aura's presence wouldn't be with him somehow. He knew that, and he loved the thought of always being so close to her. He smiled again. 

_Wherever you are, my true love, come home to me healed and whole again. I can't wait to see you again. I love you._

**The End**


	22. Ancient Amber

**Ancient Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

Things were peaceful and quiet inside the Heart of Earth, as they always were here. Things were not so serene with Aura Cranston, the Amber Ranger, however. She sat in a heap of pain, with a broken soul, at the feet of the Spirit of Earth. The Spirit knelt down beside her gently, knowing that what she was about to do was the only way Aura could ever be healed. 

"Aura? Are you ready?" she asked carefully. Aura was so shattered by what had happened to her in Zedd's dungeon that only one person could possibly help her recover. She still shook, though she knew she was safe. "Remember, keep an open mind. He will accept you openly." 

Aura looked up at her, and deep in the back of her eyes, the Spirit saw the spark that made her the Amber Ranger, that courage that would never allow her to give up, no matter what. Zedd had nearly extinguished that flame, but it still flickered within her. "Spirit, what can I tell him?" 

"I will tell him," the Spirit reassured her. He will understand." 

"How long will I be there?" 

"As long as it takes for you to understand what happened to you. I healed your body, but you need to heal the rest of yourself on your own." 

Aura glanced briefly down at herself, clad in strange and unfamiliar garments. Unfamiliar to her, but something within her told her that this was what she was meant to wear. These clothes felt more natural to her than anything she'd worn in her entire life. 

"I can't change history, can I?" she wondered. "Can I change it so that I grow up on Kalakan?" 

The Spirit touched her gently on the shoulder. "Would that be wise? Look at the lives that would have changed. You and Billy, Alexander and Alaina, Adam and Azure. . ." 

"And the saving of a world," Aura whispered. _To have never suffered through this. . ._

"We would have never met. I could not see us not knowing each other, being a part of each other," there was such love and caring in her voice that Aura couldn't take it. She knew she wouldn't alter what was meant to be. She could never hurt the Spirit that much. . . 

"Spirit, why did you accept me?" she asked softly, wanting to know why this great being loved her so much. 

"You have a good heart, you are a kind person," the Spirit stroked her hair. "You protect those you love and those you don't even know." 

Aura sighed. She was so tired of hurting, inside and out. "I want to be home. With my family." 

"Which one?" the Spirit asked. She had to know. "Billy and your children. . .or your father?" 

Aura sighed. "The only way I can go back to Billy and the twins, is to heal from what happened to me in Zedd's palace. And to do that, I have to see my father." _I'm so scared. . .I know inside that they only showed me lies, but still. . .it hurts. .. oh, it hurts to think he might really hate me!_

"It is time then," the Spirit held out her hand, and Aura took it, showing the trust that was the very foundation of her existence. 

"Let's go." * * * 

Neras Alantrius was worried. The thirty-fifth Amber Ranger, the sworn defender of Kalakan, frowned in concern over his vegetable patch. "These things just aren't going to grow here!" he muttered to himself. "I should've listened the Spirit and let it be fallow for the year." 

Something flickered out of the corner of his eye and he turned to look at it, prepared to morph if he had to. A tall, lovely woman stood there, with another woman behind her. Something told him they weren't anything to be feared. 

"Hello," he smiled at them. "Are you lost?" 

"Greetings, Neras," the first woman smiled at him, nodding her head in the traditional Kalakan greeting. He raised an eyebrow; seldom was he addressed by his name by strange women. 

"Do I know you?" he asked. "You look familiar," _you look like the Spirit of Kalakan. . .a little like her. The same feel._

"I am the Spirit of Earth. This is my physical partner, Aura," she introduced the second woman, who seemed to be hiding behind her friend. Neras raised an eyebrow. 

"Hello," he nodded to them both, glancing at Aura. "Is something the matter?" 

"She has been hurt recently, and badly," the Spirit of Earth told him. "Injuries of the spirit, heart, and soul." 

"Ah, I see," Neras nodded. _I wonder why she brought her to me, then. I'm no healer; I'm just a warrior. _"Would you like to come in? Sit a while?" 

"Yes," the Spirit nodded. "Come on, Aura. He won't hurt you." 

He led the way to his house and served them drinks. Aura shook a good deal of the time, and Neras found himself looking at her. There was just something about her. . .the hair, the eyes. . .the shape of her face. . . ."You seem familiar to me," he said, then regretted it as she flinched away from the sound of his voice, then looked at the Spirit. 

"She, according to your time, has not yet been born," the ethereal one told him. He was curious; this was quite unusual. 

"Not been born? Then how is she here?" 

"I am the Spirit of Earth, as I said. I brought her back in time and across space to meet you." 

He frowned. "Why me?" the answer he got was totally unexpected. 

"You are her father, or you will be," the Spirit told him. He'd been reared from childhood to know that the Spirit of a planet could never lie; he turned to Aura with a beaming face. 

"She. . .she is my daughter?" _I'm going to be a father one day!_ He was disappointed to see her shrink away from him. The Spirit continued her tale. 

"Yes. In the time we came from, she lives on a planet called Earth, and has inherited your full Amber Ranger powers. She has a husband and twin offspring. They were captured by the evil warlord she fights against, and used to force her to surrender. While she was his prisoner, he tortured her physically and mentally for over a month. One of those tortures was to make her believe you hated her and believed she was a weak warrior." 

Neras' eyes went wide. "I could never hate my own child! Actually, I've prayed all my life for a daughter!" 

"R. .really?" Aura had spoken; he knew at once this was his child. He could hear echoes of his own voice in hers. He nodded. 

"Yes, with the one special woman in my life." 

Aura smiled a little. "Shaya." 

"Yes. You've heard of her then?" 

Aura nodded. "Yes, I have,"_ I know her. I know my mother. And now, I know my father. He doesn't hate me. He loves me. . ._

The Spirit rose and turned to Aura. "I will leave you now. Neras, she was never trained properly as the Amber Ranger. Could you do that while she is here? I will return when the time is right." 

Neras smiled. "It will be my pleasure," he glanced at Aura; she was terribly thin and wasted. "But first, we must get some food into your stomach and you must need rest after your journey." 

Aura nodded. "Good-bye, Spirit," she smiled a little, and Neras recognized the smile. 

"I will always be a part of you, Aura," the Spirit touched her cheek gently. Neras spoke as the Spirit faded away. 

"I know who she reminds me of now. The Spirit of Kalakan," he sighed a little as he saw Aura shrinking away from him again. "I see we have a lot of work cut out for us. Come, I will make you dinner?" 

"Wh-what should I call you?" she whispered. He took a long look at her, without seeming to make it obvious. His instincts told him if she knew he was looking at her, she'd probably bolt like a deer. Whatever this enemy of hers had done, he'd plainly come close to completely destroying her. 

Her hair had been raggedly chopped short, what he could see of her body was covered in bruises and minor cuts, most of which looked to have been healed already. He suspected the work of the Spirit in that; the Spirit of Kalakan had done similar things for him when he'd needed healing. She was dressed in the usual type of clothing worn by Kalakans, and her neck bore the marks of having once worn the Amber Necklace. He didn't ask what had happened to it, though; he knew the only way it wouldn't be with her would be if she'd willingly removed it, or if the Spirit of Earth had severed their connection. 

_And if the Spirit brought her to me for healing, I don't think that's what happened. She must have given it to someone for safekeeping before being taken by her enemy. A wise precaution, one I would have done. No evil can touch the Necklaces, but the mark of the bond should never be in profane hands._

"Neras, when we are in public," he told her. "These people around here know that I am not a father, but other than that, you may call me as you wish, either Neras or Father. It is up to you." 

She smiled a very little. "Father," he liked the way that sounded. "I never knew you. I mean, when I was growing up." 

Why would she not know me? "You didn't?" he asked. 

"I don't think I should say why," she said thoughtfully. "but I didn't grow up on Kalakan."_ I grew up so far away in space and time, and from the moment I learned of your existence, all I wanted to do was meet you. _

"Ah," Neras nodded. "Tell me, as I'm sure this is safe to talk about. The people you grew up with, friends, loved ones. What are they like?" 

She was relaxing around him; that was one step. He was careful to maintain a certain distance from her; he'd seen the fright in her eyes when he'd went a little too close to her. "Wonderful. I'm nineteen years old; I'm married, with two children," she glanced at her left hand; he saw the wedding ring there. "Billy," she whispered the name. 

"Your husband?" 

She nodded. "I've loved him most of my life, since I first saw him." 

_The same way I did with Shaya; a lifetime together meant to be. _"Is there anyone else in your life that you care about deeply?" _I have to see if she still can care._

"Azure. My children. The others." 

"Others?" 

"Other Rangers." 

Neras raised an eyebrow; as far back as he knew, the only Rangers had been the Amber Rangers. Well, she was from the future; obviously things had changed between now and then. "There are other Rangers?" 

"They don't have their powers born into them, like. . .we do," she glanced at him, starting the eye contact this time. He could see progress already; she was truly an Amber Ranger. "They are given theirs." 

"That is bizarre," Neras considered. "But a great many things are weird recently." 

Curiosity poked itself up in Aura. "Like what?" 

"Just a strange person who visited recently. I believe his name is Zedd," he was totally unprepared for the reaction that name got. Her eyes went wide, all the blood drained out of her, and she looked ready to run at the slightest sound. 

"No," she whispered. _No. Please, no. Not here, not NOW. _

"Did I say something to upset you?" _I never thought someone could be so scared. Especially not an Amber Ranger._

"Zedd," she whispered the name, shaking badly. She whispered 'no' over and over again. 

"Is he the one?" _She's absolutely terrified._ "I'm sure it couldn't be the same one. What did he look like?" Aura quickly, though shakingly, described the Zedd she knew. Neras' own nervousness stopped. "Then it could not be the same man. This man was tall, had blonde hair, crystal blue eyes, and is tanned: with skin." 

Aura began to calm down a trifle herself. "Must not be. Maybe the person I knew in my time. . .took his name?"_ Please, let that be it! Let this Zedd just be his ancestor, or something! His namesake, I don't CARE as long as it isn't him! I can't face him! Never again!_

"Maybe," Neras tried a reassuring smile. "Are you hungry?" 

Aura thought it over. She hadn't had a decent meal in a month. Yes," _starving comes a lot closer._ As they ate, she took a look at him. Her own gray eyes looked back at her every now and then, and their skin tones were precisely identical. She already knew she had her mother's ink-black hair, and her smile. She had to know a few things, though. "Now that you know you're going to have. . .me. . .what do you think?" 

Neras smiled at her. "I think I shall be proud of my daughter!" 

"But," Aura bit her lip a moment. _Should I tell him?_ Before she could stop herself, the entire tale of her life came pouring out of her, from growing up on Earth, to her rescue from Zedd's dungeons. The only thing she left out was just _when_ all that had happened. He didn't need to know she came from fifty thousand years in the future, or why she'd been sent from Kalakan, or that Shaya had been the one to rescue her from the destruction of the world. Hours later, when her recitation was over, she was leaning against him, shaking from the horrors she'd had to relive in the telling. His arms were around her, strong and loving as a father's arms should be. It was something she'd never really felt like she could give her adopted father, but to him, to Neras, gone to dust before she'd ever learned of him, she gave freely: her trust. 

Slowly, he spoke. "This person may have had and used powers to control you, but you have a greater power, and you used it to break free." _And if I ever meet the monster who did all this to her, to my daughter, he will pay in pain._

"What do you mean?" 

"The power of love and friendship are a greater power than the darkest forces of evil. You used that power and broke his grip on you," he looked deep into her eyes. "For that, I am proud." 

_He's proud of me. My father is proud of me._ She'd always known that Frank Robinson cared for her, and in his own way was proud of her, but still and all, this was the father who had sired her, from whom she'd inherited her powers. To know he was proud of her made her feel worlds and eons better. "Still. . .I should have never surrendered that last time. But I was so afraid for my children, and those I love." 

"You would have felt guilty if you hadn't, and they were still there, with him," Neras told her quietly. Aura nodded. 

"I would have been devastated," she said softly. _I would have hated myself forever. _

"It was a no-win situation. You did what you thought was best for your family and friends," Neras reminded her. Aura sighed briefly, then smiled a little. 

"If I hadn't surrendered. . .been tortured, then the Spirit would have never brought me here to meet you," she told him. Neras recognized the smile; he had seen it often. 

"That is one good thing that came out of his," he told her. "I had the chance to meet you." 

As he started to wash up, a knock came at the door. Aura instinctively started away from it. Neras opened it, and managed to conceal his distaste. "Zedd," a tall, handsome man entered the house. Aura had flinched when she'd heard the name, but the person who came in didn't look anything like the monster she knew from her own time. 

"Hello," he nodded his greetings to them both absently. Zedd almost did a doubletake when he saw Aura. _No one deserves to look that good and not be an angel of some type! _

"Hello," Aura nodded briefly, doing her best to be polite. Zedd glanced at her father. 

"Who is your guest?" he asked. _She is so beautiful! I must find out more about her!_

"Her name is Aura, and she is under the protection of my house, Zedd," Neras said with a certain note of steel. By the laws of Kalakan, anyone under the protection of someone's house was not to be harmed. The penalties for doing so were great. 

"I'm staying with Neras for a while, I'm not sure how long," Aura forced herself to speak. She didn't want to let this person, even if it wasn't the Zedd she knew, to know how terrified she was of just being in the same room with him. 

"Then I should be seeing you around," he smiled at her, and Aura felt her stomach turning. 

_If this is the Zedd I know, I think I'm going to be sick, because I think he likes me!_ "I guess so," was all she said out loud. _Please, let it be my imagination._

"I hope so," he smiled at her again. _Oh, I certainly hope so. I want to see a lot more of you: for a very long time. Forever sounds about right._

"So, I take it you live around here?" Aura forced herself to make conversation, no matter what._ I'm not going to hint that being near him makes me sick!_

"Actually, I'm visiting from another planet," he told her._ And I bless the day I came here, since it led to me meeting you!_

"So am I," Aura's eyes flicked to Neras, begging soundlessly for him to make Zedd leave somehow. "But I was born here on Kalakan." _Or will be, call it what you will!_

"You moved away? May I ask why?" 

"It's personal," she told him. _Since I'm not entirely sure of the reasons myself. I wonder if I'll find out while I'm here._

"Ah, very well," Zedd could barely keep his eyes off her, and it was making Aura so nervous she was about ready to get up and run away at a moment's notice. 

"I'm glad to be here, but I miss my family,"_ If he finds out about Billy, he'll leave me alone, I hope!!_

"They didn't come with you?" 

She shook her head. "No, my husband had to take care of our twins,"_ I've got my own family, and I don't want you anywhere near them!_

"Twins? You are a lucky soul," Zedd smiled again, hoping to impress her with his good looks. _So, she is married and has a family. No matter. I'll still make her mine._

"I was very surprised, but very glad," she told him. _I hope he leaves soon. I'm about to be very ill just being near him._

He stood up suddenly, as he glanced at a timepiece on the wall. "I enjoyed our little chat, Aura, but I must take my leave of you. Till later," he kissed her hand suddenly, then turned to Neras. "I will speak with you again later; the matter for which I originally came is not pressing. Good-bye." 

A moment later, he was gone. Aura stood up and went to the sink, washing her hand off with all her might. "I see he has the same effect on you, too," Neras told her. 

Aura sighed. "I don't know if he's the same one in my time or not, but I get the same sick feeling around them both." 

"Perhaps they are related," Neras shrugged as he finished up the washing. "Come, I'll show you to where you'll be sleeping. There is so much I wish to tell you!" 

"And so much I want to know," Aura sighed happily. _I really am home. At last._ * * * 

Zedd entered his quarters at his Embassy, a far-off look in his eyes. _I cannot believe how lucky I am! I found her. . the woman of my dreams. . .after all this time!_

His new servant, Goldar, looked up as he entered. Goldar was a great winged ape, a mighty warrior of his own people, sworn to the cause of evil just as Zedd was. "Sire? How did your investigation of Neras go?" 

"Fine," Zedd sighed. _Her hair. . .her eyes. . .so beautiful. . ._

"Is everything all right, sire? You seem. . .distracted." 

"She was beautiful," Zedd smiled, remembering the glowing beauty of the girl. He hadn't noticed the bruises, the half-healed cuts, any of it. She was perfect. 

"Sire?" 

Zedd shook his head suddenly, blinking his eyes. "Huh?" 

"Of whom were you speaking, sire? Is this something I should know about?" 

"There was this _girl_ at Neras' house. A visitor to his home. She was so _beautiful!_" Zedd smiled to himself, remembering the glittering beauty of the girl he'd met. 

"Really?" Goldar sighed; women had been the downfall of more evil empires than he could count. Zedd almost glared at him. 

"Yes, Goldar, she is!" 

Goldar sighed briefly. "Are you still going to kill Neras and conquer Kalakan?" _I have to know this; if he's lost his edge already, just because of a woman, I don't want to work for him!_

"Yes!" Zedd declared, smiling so evilly that Goldar was relieved. "And this girl will be my Queen!" _I found her at last, the only woman I shall marry! She will be mine!_

"I take it the attraction was mutual, then?" 

Zedd sighed. "I am not sure," _Oh, she had to love me! How could she not?_ "Oh, Goldar, I am going to get her even if it's not!" _I will have my Queen!_

"Of course, sire!" Goldar nodded fiercely and fingered the edge of his sword. _I wonder if it's too late to get another job._

Zedd smiled. "Now let us plan the conquest of Kalakan!" 

"Yes!" _That's why I hired on with this guy! _

Dark and evil plots were conceived all that night, with Zedd's mind only occasionally wandering to the strange and beautiful Aura. * * * 

Aura moved through the graceful movements of the kata Neras had taught her. In the past three days, Neras had taught her much about being the Amber Ranger, more than she had even considered existed. Shaya had known little of it; most of what she knew had been from what Neras had dropped in conversation to her, and over the course of fifty thousand years, she had forgotten a good deal of that. 

She knew now that when she returned to her own time, she would not be the same Aura, or the same Amber Ranger, who had left it. Her father was training her body, her mind, her heart, and soul, just as she would one day train Alexander. _And now I know just what to teach him. This, despite it's origin, is truly the best thing that has ever happened to me. _

She stumbled a little in the kata, and Neras shook his head. "Your mind is not on it." 

Aura sighed; the thought she'd been trying so hard to keep hidden surged forward again. "I think he is the Zedd from my time." She couldn't put her finger on it, but something told her he was. 

"Do not let him plague your mind," Neras advised. "The vile creature of whom you know must not be allowed to win! If you cannot concentrate, you will not heal, and he will have conquered you!" 

"I'll try to focus," she sighed. "But I can't get the way he was looking at me out of my head!" _Like Billy does. . .almost._

Neras sighed, then something occurred to him. "There maybe someone that you would like to meet. She might be able to help you concentrate." 

"Who's that?" Aura no longer flinched or jumped when someone came near her; a few days of being in her father's unconditional love had cured her of that. 

"Shaya Shaldar," Neras spoke the name with reverence and love mixed. Aura smiled; she knew that name as well as she knew her own. 

"Mother," _I was hoping I'd get to meet her. . . as a young person. The woman I know in my time is so different than what she must be now._

"Come on," Neras reached for a pair of cloaks, throwing her one. "It's a bit of a hike to her place," he practically glowed with love, and seemed to be smiling from head to toe. 

"Let's go then," Aura wrapped the cloak about herself and smiled. In the three short days she'd been there, she'd found herself adapting to the times and place miraculously. She didn't miss television or a car or any of the Earth-modern conveniences. Kalakan's society and technology had already evolved past that, at any rate. Neras walked to Shaya's because he wanted to, and because Amber Rangers seldom used transportation unless they had to. They preferred to be closer to the planet they served, by walking. * * * 

Shaya carefully cut back a bush, and examined it thoughtfully. "They're going to bloom perfectly this year," she muttered to herself. "with a little help, of course," she smiled, whispering the spell under her breath to help her flowers grow. She heard footsteps behind her, and turned. 

"Neras!" she ran over and hugged her beloved with all her strength. "It has been too long!" 

She noticed another young woman with him, but felt no fear. She knew Neras' heart belonged to her alone. "Hello, Shaya," the woman said softly. Her voice sounded much as Neras' did. . .perhaps she was a relative of his? 

"Neras? Who is this young lady?" 

"This is Aura," Neras introduced his companion. He intended to inform her of everything; he held no secrets from his love. 

"Hello," Aura smiled at her, and Shaya felt a tremble of excitement as her magical senses flared up. _That smile. . .no, it can't be! Can it?_ Aura continued to speak. "I'm visiting with Neras for a while." 

"I brought her here to meet you. She had an encounter with Zedd the other day," then he told her just who Aura was: or rather, was going to be. 

_Then it is so!! _"She is to be your daughter?" Shaya looked at Aura, and smiled through her shock. "She does have your eyes." 

"It's nice to meet you," Aura never forgot her manners, despite being displaced through fifty thousand years worth of time. 

"As it is to meet you. Come inside," Shaya escorted them within her home, concealing her joy._ I am to have a child with Neras! She is so beautiful! She will be my daughter! _"Welcome to my home." 

"It's beautiful," Aura smiled as she looked around at the warm wooden furnishing and brightly polished floor._ It looks just like her cabin on the spaceship does! I guess she decorated it herself. _

"Thank you," Shaya enjoyed knowing people appreciated the work she'd put into this place. "So, you had an encounter with Zedd? Tell me, did you want to throw up afterwards?" 

Aura nodded. "He kissed my hand. I had to wash it off, I couldn't stand the feel of his lips!" 

Shaya agreed completely. "Be thankful it wasn't your cheek!" 

"I think I would have thrown up all over him!" 

Neras chuckled a trifle. "Shaya almost did." 

"He kissed you?" Aura felt her stomach churning at the thought of Zedd being near her mother. Apparently, if this was the Zedd she knew, he had abandoned charm for ruthlessness. 

"On my cheek," Shaya nodded. "Once he left, I threw up. There is just something about him that is truly and utterly evil and disgusting." 

"You don't know the half of it," Aura sighed. "Let me tell you who I think he is: or is going to become." * * * 

Zedd sat surrounded by the wealth he had accumulated so far, thinking._ I must have her; there is no other option. She must become my bride. But how? Ah, yes! That will do!_

"I have it!" Zedd leaped to his feet, startling Goldar, who had almost dozed off. 

"What? Oh, sire. . .what is it?" Goldar yawned; he'd been on the verge of such a wonderful dream. _What does he want now?_

"I know how to get her!" Zedd laughed. "And Neras at the same time!" 

"Her? Oh, the girl," she'd been almost all Zedd had talked about since he'd first seen her, that and destroying Kalakan. 

Zedd glared at him. "Yes, the girl," he said sarcastically. "If we get Neras married off, he can't protect her! He'll be too upset that it's not Shaya he's marrying!" 

"Excellent plan, sire!" Goldar bowed low._ I hope I'm not in for a few centuries of this sort of thing!_

Zedd turned to his scanners and started to search around. "Now, who to marry him off to," One of the peculiarities of Kalakan society was that many marriages were still arranged by the parents. In Neras' case, however, things were a trifle different. Usually an Amber Ranger was permitted the choice of their mate, but Neras owed a favor he couldn't repay to a very highly placed politician. Zedd laughed suddenly as his computer informed him of this at his request. "Her! Now, to set it up. Goldar, wait here. I have a marriage to arrange!" 

"Yes, sire," Goldar nodded and settled back down into his sleep. _Maybe I can get that dream going this time._

In only a few minutes, Zedd was with the politician he wanted; Lord Delvan. "Sir?" he spoke quietly to get his attention. 

"Yes?" he looked up at him. Zedd smiled briefly; before he'd met Aura, he'd considered an alliance with this man's daughter; as a way to get a foothold into Kalakan politics. Now he had a much better use for her. 

"I have been thinking about that matter we discussed the other day, about how your daughter is reaching marriageable age," Zedd reminded him._ Though I didn't quite think that conversation would lead to this._

Delvan nodded. "Yes, Selania is ready to be married, but there is no one suitable to her station." 

"What about Neras?" Zedd forced himself not to sound too eager. "He, too, is reaching the proper age." 

"The Amber Ranger?" the lord raised an eyebrow and considered. "It would be an excellent match, but I don't like the idea of marrying her to someone she barely knows." 

Zedd quietly wove a spell that would influence Delvan to agree with him; he wanted no foul-ups of this plan! "But think of it! Your daughter, and the defender of Kalakan." 

Delvan nodded. "Yes. I'll get the proceedings begun at once!" 

Zedd smiled; the spell had worked! "If you don't mind, I would like to tell Neras; we have become good friends." _Ah, this fool would believe anything I tell him now!_

"Oh, I didn't know that! Very well, I must inform Selania as well," Delvan nodded and left at once. Zedd chuckled; everything was going according to plan. * * * 

Aura and Neras were doing their katas in unison, moving perfectly together. Aura had truly enjoyed the visit they'd made to Shaya, and hoped to see her mother again soon. Her good mood was spoiled when Zedd came up the path to the house. 

"Hello, Aura," Zedd smiled at her, then turned to Neras. "We need to talk." 

Neras raised an eyebrow. "About what?" 

"You are reaching marriageable age, aren't you?" Zedd was barely able to control his urges to stare mindlessly at Aura. 

"Yes, I'm planning to ask Shaya soon," he glanced briefly at Aura, smiling to himself. _My daughter._

"I was sent to tell you something. This isn't going to be easy," Zedd sighed a trifle melodramatically. _I hope I can pull this off without laughing too much! Or falling upon Aura with all my love!_

"What is it?" Neras frowned._ Zedd is never good news, but this promises to be even worse! _

"You've been promised to Selania," Zedd managed not to smile at the thought of the pain he must have caused at that simple sentence. Neras's eyes filled with sorrow. 

"No," he whispered. _How can we have Aura if I do not marry Shaya?_

"I asked to be the one to tell you. I hoped you would take it better from me than from some stuffy public official." 

Neras looked at Aura, eyes wide. "I don't know what to say! What do I tell Shaya?" 

"The truth," Aura said quietly. _This is what is meant to be._

"I'm sure she'll understand," Zedd tried to reassure him. _Yes, run to her, and leave Aura alone!_

Neras was upset; this had truly struck him to his core. "But I'm not sure I do!" 

"Sometimes these things are for the best," Zedd managed not to crow in triumph as he saw Neras' expression. 

"I have to tell her now," Neras was flustered. "I can't wait; she might hear it from someone else!" 

Zedd smiled. _Perfect._ "If you want, I will keep Aura company." 

Neras glanced at Aura, who nodded slightly. "Very well," he said. He left after seizing a cloak, throwing a few concerned glances at Aura as he did so. "I'll be all right," she reassured him as he went out of sight. Aura bit her lip a bit nervously; she hated being alone with Zedd, but couldn't interfere with what was to be. 

"So, tell me about yourself," Zedd tried to engage her in conversation._ I must learn about her; must know everything I can about my future queen!_

"I'm visiting with Neras a while," she told him._ Like I said the last time I saw you, idiot! _"I'm married; we have two kids." _I firmly believe I was tortured by you in the future, so I came back to spend time with my father!_

"Two children? That is a lot for someone of your youthfulness," _But all your future children shall be with me._

"Twins," she told him. "We didn't exactly plan on it, but we love them." 

"What are they? Boys or girls?" 

"One of each," she stepped away from him, back to the training ring. "I really should keep up with my training; it's part of the reason I came here." 

"Do you mind if I watch?" 

_Indeed I do. _"All right," she didn't dare let him know the truth. She didn't want to hint yet she knew more of him than he had told her. Zedd watched as she moved through the graceful katas Neras had taught her. She smiled a bit to herself; her mischievous streak had begun to return as she healed. "I really miss my husband. Before I came here, we'd already been separated for a month. 

"Really? Problems?" _If so, this could be work out wonderfully!_

"Not exactly. I had to be somewhere, for my work," _OK, that's a bit of a stretch, but it's the truth. . .sort of. My work is saving the world, and anything that keeps Zedd from attacking it is worth it._

"What do you do for a living?" 

She smiled a little; no way was she going to tell him the truth! "I protect things, places," _Like an entire planet._

"Sounds like a rough job for one so young," Zedd smiled; he intended to take her away from all of that, forever, and give her a planet to rule! _And one day, if all goes well, we will rule the entire universe together!_

"I have help," she smiled. _All the other Power Rangers; who've got a much better track record than I do against you!_

"Are they here with you?" he stepped a bit closer to her; he was almost ready. 

"No, they had to stay at home. I wish they could've come, but they're needed there," she glanced at him, intending to flash a mischievous grin, but was stopped by the raw desire in his eyes. 

"A pity," Zedd snapped his fingers and Goldar appeared. Aura's eyes flew wide open with shock. She knew Goldar; and she knew this had to be the Zedd she knew. She backed away, trembling with fright. 

"What do you want, Zedd?" she wasn't able to keep the quiver out of her voice as she spoke. _Oh, no! No! Not again! _

"You," he said as Goldar vanished and appeared again behind her. Before she could react, he had sprayed a strange mist into her face, and she collapsed, sound asleep, at Zedd's feet. He smiled; the sleeping potion was a success. "Bring her, Goldar," he ordered. _I have my queen. And there is nothing Neras or anyone can do to stop me! Now or ever!_ * * * 

Neras knocked with a heavy heart on Shaya's door; he couldn't believe what was going on._ A political marriage. I can't believe Lord Delvan would call in that favor I owe him like this, when he knows how I feel about Shaya! But I can never go back on my word; it goes against all that makes me the Amber Ranger! Somehow, I must be with Shaya! How else can Aura exist?_

"Neras!" Shaya opened the door and her entire face lit up with joy as she saw who her visitor was. "Come in, please!" 

"Shaya," Neras sighed deeply as he entered. She frowned; she knew his every mood, and he was more depressed than she'd ever seen him before. 

"What's wrong, Neras?" 

"I just got news that I must marry Selania Delvar in a 'political marriage'," he spoke the words with nothing but hate and disgust in his voice. 

"No," she whispered. _This cannot be. But. . . I have seen the future in my visions. We are not to marry._

"I'm afraid so. How am I supposed to get out of it???" he took her hands and pulled her into a warm kiss. "It's you I want to marry!" 

"You're not supposed to get out of it, Neras. It's fate," she told him._ I have seen so much. But I cannot tell. This is the burden of my power._

"Who cares about fate!" Neras cried. "Right now, all I care about is love, and my love is for you, for always!" 

"And mine for you," she took a deep breath. "Neras, your marriage is fated, but so is our love, and the product of it must happen!"_ Aura must be born! She must exist; more than you can imagine depends upon it!_

They found themselves locked in a passionate kiss. Neras pulled back a little and looked her deep into her eyes. "I love you, Shaya. I always will!" 

"As I will always love you," she told him. They kissed again; letting neither the concerns of the past or the marriage of the future concern them: all their thoughts were on the warm and loving present. * * * 

Zedd and Goldar appeared in the Embassy quarters, the still sleeping Aura in Goldar's arms. He placed her on a couch and watched as Zedd sat next to her, staring at her. "I don't see what's so special about her; she's not that pretty," Goldar observed. _Not to me anyway. I always preferred the more simian types. _

Zedd looked up at him, hurt in his eyes. "She's beautiful!" he corrected him. Goldar shrugged helplessly; he'd learned not to disagree with his master. 

"If you say so," was all he said as Aura's eyes began to open. Zedd smiled happily. _She'll be so honored I've chosen her! She'll agree at once!_

"Ah, she awakens," he watched as she looked around, then leaped to her feet. 

"Where am I?" she snapped. _This is the Zedd from my time; his younger self, however it is! What does he want with me? I can't let him see how scared I am!_

"My quarters at the Embassy," he told her. He was somewhat surprised she wasn't overjoyed to be there; but that was only because he hadn't told her the good news yet. 

"I don't want to be here!" Aura managed not to let her trembling show. _All I want is to be back at Father's; to be where I'm safe again!_

"Why? I mean you no harm," Zedd tried to be charming and reassuring to her. He had a back-up plan in case she didn't believe his sweet words in place already. 

"I don't care!" Aura snarled. "I want to go back to Neras' place!" 

Zedd smiled winningly. "Why? There is no on there; he is spending some last moments with Shaya. At least enjoy a meal with me." 

_Zedd did not just invite me to dinner. I didn't hear that. _"If you'd wanted dinner, you didn't have to kidnap me!" 

He dropped his head, managing to look distressed. "I do apologize for that." 

Aura's eyes widened briefly; she'd never expected to hear those words coming from him. "The only apology I want is to be set free!" 

Zedd told her, "You are free to leave, but dinner has already been set up if you are hungry. What would it hurt to eat with me? Just one meal." 

Aura sighed; she was hungry, probably that was a side effect of the spray they'd used on her. "All right. But then I'm going right back to Neras!" 

_That's what she thinks! _Zedd smiled as he led her politely to the grand dining hall. "I will have you escorted back. You can never be too careful." 

Aura smiled. "I'm safer than you might think." _Very few things can stand up to a full-fledged Amber Ranger!_

He shook his head. "I would feel better knowing that you made it back safely, though. Please." 

"Oh, if you insist," she sighed a little._ Maybe this ISN'T the Zedd I know after all. He's a lot nicer than he is in the future if this is him. That could be a trick, though. I've got to be careful. _

The food was tasty, but strange to Aura. The more she ate, though, the more she found herself looking at Zedd with more than just casual interest. She realized he was much better looking than she'd originally thought, and she could tell easily now that he liked her in return. She smiled briefly; she was flattered such a handsome man found her attractive! 

"Thank you for the meal, Zedd," she said politely once it was done. Her heart thudded with joy as he smiled at her. 

"It was a pleasure," he told her. "I will have Goldar take you home, unless you want. . .," he paused for a moment, waiting. 

Aura smiled at him archly. ";I think I'd like to stay," she said softly. _I think I love him_. . ."Just why did you take me from Neras' home anyway?" 

"I didn't think you'd come any other way," he told her as he sat on the couch and beckoned for her to join him. 

"You should have asked. You might have been surprised," she told him as she sat next to him. _Oh, you would have indeed been surprised. Why didn't I see how handsome and caring he was before?_

"Would I have been?" he asked, smiling. Aura returned the expression. 

"Perhaps," she was a trifle startled when he slipped his hand into hers, but didn't object. Indeed, she thrilled to his touch and wanted more of it. 

"Well, it wasn't so bad how you kidnapped me," she admitted. "I've had worse experiences," _Can't remember any of them at the moment. Oh, what does it matter? I'm with him now._

"You are beautiful, Aura," he told her, causing her cheeks to flame red. "I am truly honored that you decided to stay here."_ And you're not going to leave me, ever. That love potion I mixed in with the food works wonders!_

She told him, "Neras needs time with Shaya. It's important they be together while they can be." 

He nodded. "Yes, it's a shame that their love must fall to the wayside." 

"The love will be forever. Their marriage was never meant to be." 

"True," Zedd nodded. "Love conquers all barriers, even marriage," he stroked her hand gently and Aura leaned closer to him, heart pounding with joy. 

"Yes," she told him._ I thought I was married. Doesn't matter. Zedd is the only one for me. _Zedd smiled as he moved closer to her, running his hands through her coal-black hair and kissing her deeply on the lips. Aura kissed him in return, enjoying his touch. She closed her eyes happily, sighing as Zedd's hands wandered all over her. 

_I love. . .him. . ._she thought to herself._ I love him so much. . ._"Oh, Billy," she sighed happily, almost absently. Zedd stopped his exploration, and stared at her. 

"What?" 

"I. . .I. .. said," Aura's mind cleared suddenly. "I said Billy!" she pushed away from him. "What am I doing??!" 

"Aura?" Zedd was hurt by her rejection. "I thought we loved each other!" 

_Love? Me? The Amber Ranger, love Zedd? I must have been under a spell!_ "I love Billy! I hate you!" she spat the words out with complete disgust. Zedd stared at her with wounded eyes. 

"Pity! Goldar!" he called his servant. "You aren't leaving here!" 

"What is it, sire?" Goldar asked, entering the chamber. Zedd had dismissed him during the meal, not wanting an audience to his attempt at romancing Aura. His master pointed at Aura, who was searching everywhere with her eyes for a way to escape. 

"Make sure she doesn't leave here!" he ordered as he left the room._ That love potion obviously wasn't strong enough. But if I wipe her mind clean of all her memories of whoever that husband of hers is, then she will have no choice but to love me, for she'll know no one else! I will have her!_

Aura looked at Goldar, her gray eyes storming. _How many times and in how many times do I have to deal with this idiot? _As he headed over to her, intending to grab her, Aura moved with skill born of need and desperation, and kicked him squarely where it would hurt the most. As he sank to his knees, she couldn't resist taunting him a little. "I know your weak points, Goldar! Better than you can imagine!" _Amazing what roughly two years of fighting this jerk can do for you!_ "How is that?" Goldar snarled as he tried to get to his feet. _She'll pay for that!_

"You'll never find out, because I'm out of here!" Aura had seen a door, and headed for it, dodging his outstretched arms easily. She found herself in a hallway. _He did say it was an embassy. I'd better get back to Neras' as fast as I can!_

She didn't dare ask anyone in here for directions; they probably all worked for Zedd. But the people outside should be safe. She would ask one of them for how to get back to her father's home: to where she wouldn't have to worry about Zedd. * * * 

Neras walked up the path to his house, in a much better mood than he'd been when he left earlier that day. He'd been worried over leaving Aura with Zedd, but things seemed to have went well; there was no sign of any trouble anywhere. The house was dark and still._ If she went somewhere, I hope she let me know where. I worry about her; she knows that. Oh, good, she locked up, _he thought as he unlocked the door and entered. With a wave of his hand, the lights came on, revealing Aura huddled in a corner of the main room, shaking like a leaf, her head tucked down and covered by her arms. 

"Aura?" he asked gently. At the sound of her name, her head jerked up in startlement. Her eyes were wide and she was pale and shaking. _She wasn't this bad when she got here!_ "What happened?" he asked as carefully as he could. 

Aura stammered out her explanation, and Neras' hands clenched in rage. "I _knew_ I shouldn't have left you with him!" he was about ready to go destroy Zedd in that moment! 

"It was necessary," Aura choked out the phrase. She was literally forcing herself to be calm now; she didn't dare release the tears that threatened to explode from her. The minute she'd arrived back at Neras, the full realization of how close she'd come to betraying her love for Billy had come crashing in on her. 

"He hurt you," Neras said softly, dangerously. _No one hurts my daughter! _

"Father, what did you do with Mother while you were with her?" _I have to get him to see what he did was necessary. What happened had to happen, with them, anyway! _The smile Neras gave her confirmed her suspicions. "See? I wouldn't be born if you hadn't left!" 

Neras smiled at her, and came a bit closer. "Does this make what you went through better?" 

_No. Nothing could. Not even knowing I would never have been conceived!_ "A little," she lied. He didn't need to know how much what Zedd had tried had hurt her. She wasn't going to let Zedd. . .of any time. .. defeat her, no matter what. She would be strong. She would be the Amber Ranger. * * * 

Zedd emerged back into the main room of his private quarters, the amnesia potion all ready. He glanced around, looking in vain for Aura. "Where is she?" he asked Goldar, who looked a trifle embarrassed at the question. "Goldar?" 

"She got away," he mumbled. Zedd glared at him evilly; how dare this monkey let his future queen escape? 

"She what?" Zedd roared. This had passed beyond intolerability! How dare this happen! 

"She got away!" 

"How?" Zedd wanted explanations, and he wanted them now! 

"She kicked me," Goldar explained. He didn't say how hard she'd kicked, the extreme power behind it, or how much it had _hurt!_

"Are you so weak to be taken down with one kick?" Zedd scoffed. He was already rethinking his hiring of this imbecile. 

"It was where she kicked me! And she kicks hard, too! She said something about knowing all my weak points," Goldar tried to make himself look good, or at least better. Zedd snorted in disgust. 

"You must be easy for her to read," he had obviously underestimated this Aura. She was more than just some visitor to Neras; he must be teaching her to fight. He smiled a bit. _A warrior Queen. Just what I wanted._

"She must be back with Neras by now," Goldar suggested._ Please, tell me you don't want anything to do with her anymore!!_

Zedd shrugged. "Let her enjoy her time with him while she can. Soon he will be gone, and so will she!" 

"I take it you don't want to marry her anymore?" Goldar would have prayed if he'd known of any deities who might listen to scum like him. 

"No," a small smile flickered across Zedd's face. _What Goldar doesn't know won't hurt him. Though it takes me a thousand years or more, I will have Aura as my bride!_

"Good," Goldar nodded briskly. Zedd pulled out a roll of battle plans and spread them on the table, outlining what he planned to do over the next few months. 

He would have Kalakan under his fist soon, and with it, his chosen queen. * * * 

Three months went by, with no sign of Zedd anywhere. Aura's physical and mental wounds had healed into invisibility, and she'd continued her training with Neras. As the day came when Neras and Selania would be married, Aura made her preparations, and moved in with her mother. Neras would still be training her, once he'd returned from his honeymoon, but now Shaya would take up her education as best she could. 

"It's going to be all right, Father," Aura smiled at Neras as he fidgeted before the wedding. Aura chuckled a bit, wondering if Billy had been as nervous as her father was before their own wedding. 

"Are you sure?" 

Aura smiled again, but this time it was touched with sadness. She knew something that he didn't; that the entire world around them had just over six months left to exist. The battles to come would ravage the planet, and only Shaya's constant care and magic would heal it as much as it would be over the next fifty thousand years. Neras noticed her melancholy, though. 

"Something wrong?" he asked. Since she'd escaped from Zedd, the two of them had become very close, as the father and daughter bond they shared increased. Aura shook her head. 

"No," she replied softly. _He can't know. This is the hardest part of my time here. I can't let anyone know what's going to happen._

Neras smiled; he didn't believe her, but didn't want to spoil what was mainly a happy occasion. He loved Shaya, and would forever, but Selania was a sweet girl as well. He did not love her as he did Shaya, and the whole of Kalakan knew it. He leaned over and gently whispered into Aura's ear, "Shaya is three months pregnant. . with you!" 

"I know,"" Aura whispered in return, smiling. She'd known perfectly well her parents hadn't been married when she was born; she'd known that since she'd seen their message in her original pendent. 

"It must be weird for you, to know that you are looking at your parents while they are having you," he sighed, wondering if his parents had went through anything similar. 

Aura nodded. "It is strange, but kind of fun at the same time." 

"I can imagine," Neras peeked through the curtains to where the final preparations were being made for the ceremony. Though he would have loved to have her be part of it, Aura would only be a spectator, and a distant one, at this wedding. The Spirit of Kalakan was to perform the ceremony, as was the custom with all Amber Rangers, and as usual, it was being held on the summer solstice. Aura sighed to herself, remembering her wedding, and her beloved husband. 

"I've loved being here," she said at last. "Most of it, anyway." 

Neras knew at once what she meant. "He has left you alone for three months; no one's seen anything of him, not even at the Embassy. I don't think he'll interfere anymore." 

_Oh, father. If only I could tell you. _"Not in this time," she whispered. _In my time, he's still active and annoying!_

The music swelled to just the right moment, and Neras took a deep breath. He glanced briefly at Shaya, who stood just out of sight of everyone else, and gave her a loving smile, which she returned. "It's time," he said. Aura gave him a daughter's kiss on the cheek. 

"Don't worry, father," she whispered. "Everything will be fine." 

Aura watched as Neras and Selania were married, then went along with everyone else to the reception held at Neras' home. She stayed just out of sight of everyone, not wanting comments on her resemblance to her father. 

Hands slid along her back, caressing every bit as gently as Billy's ever had. But the nausea the touch caused her told her who this was, even as Zedd whispered, "Hello, Aura. Nice to see you again." 

She jumped away and whirled around. "Zedd! What are you doing here?" 

"Just came to wish the happy couple the very best," he smiled at her._ She has grown even more beautiful. But I shall wait. I have a feeling I will have her one day, utterly under my power._

"Don't you ever touch me again!" she hissed. _Oh, I feel unclean!_

He smiled nastily at her. "We'll see about that," was all he said. Without another word, he vanished into thin air. Aura leaned against the wall, shaking with anger, wanting only to be as far away from Zedd in time and space as she possibly could be. 

"Aura?" she glanced up to see Shaya standing there with a worried expression on her face. "Are you all right?" 

"Zedd," Aura managed to keep herself from stuttering as she said his name. Shaya glanced around, looking for him; the sorceress knew as well as Aura did how evil he was. "He left," her future daughter told her. "Oh, Mother, he touched me! On the back! I want to scrub about five layers of skin off!" 

Shaya smiled at her. "When we get home, you can." 

Aura nodded, there was nothing more she wanted at the moment than to get rid of the feel of his hands on her. She glanced at her mother, who was just beginning to show her pregnancy. "How is it coming along?" 

"Weird," Shaya touched her stomach thoughtfully. "I think I want to throw up!" 

Aura helped her out of the way, then held her carefully through the heaves that followed. Both of them were so concerned over making certain Shaya's pregnancy proceeded normally, they didn't notice Zedd's invisible presence nearby, even though his hate was almost palpable. * * * 

"That child must not be born!" Zedd stormed around his quarters on his battle machine. "How dare Neras have a child!" 

"What are your orders, sire?" Goldar asked. Ever since Aura had fled his embassy, Zedd had seemed to be his old evil self again, concentrating exclusively on the destruction and conquest of Kalakan. 

"While the Putties and the monster attack the capital, you go and kill that child and its mother!" Zedd commanded. He would permit no offspring of the Amber Ranger to survive; that line must be exterminated! 

"What of Aura?" Goldar wanted to know. "She lives with Shaya now, and could be a problem." 

Zedd smiled. "Let me deal with her," he told his servant._ This is going to be most entertaining. I can gain my queen and destroy the Amber Ranger line all in the same day. I love being evil._ * * * 

"Prepare to be destroyed, Kalakans!" one of the most disgusting monsters ever seen was advancing on the capital of Kalakan. Three days after the wedding of the Amber Ranger, the city was totally unprepared for anything like this. The chief Minister of the High Council screamed at the top of his lungs, "Where's Neras? He's supposed to protect us from things like that!" 

Lasers came from the sky as the Amber EagleZord swept down from above to blast the monster. "I am here!" Neras' voice came from within the mighty machine. Aura bit her lip, watching from Shaya's small country home. She remembered the few times she'd flown that same Zord into combat, and her own beloved HawkZord. 

"You can't," Aura turned to see her mother looking at her sternly. "Neras can handle this." 

She sighed. "I hope so. It feels so strange for there to be a monster attack, and not to be fighting." 

"You deserve a break," Shaya tried to tell her. She knew perfectly well Aura wasn't going to believe that, though. There was simply too much of her father in her. 

"I've had three months of a break," Aura said dryly. _I want to see if I can fight again. I have to know._

"And it would raise too many questions if there are two Amber Rangers out there!" 

"You're right," Aura relented. She knew there were certain restrictions on her simply by being in another time. This was just one of them. She turned away from the window, about to say something else, when twin flashes of light heralded the arrival of Zedd and Goldar. 

"Hello," Zedd favored them with one of his more hideous looks. "Time to die!" 

Aura snapped to attention at once. "Zedd, get out of here! You're not needed or wanted here!" she paled as she saw his all too familiar "Z" staff materialize in his hands. _It is him. I don't need anymore proof. It's him._

"It is now between you and me, Aura," he laughed wickedly. _Once I've defeated her, I'll spare her life on the condition she wed me! She's a smart young woman, she'll see the benefits of it at once!_

"If you want it like that," she saw Goldar attempting to sneak up on Shaya, and quite deliberately got in between them. Zedd called her attention back to him, though. 

"Then fight me, on my battlefield!" he challenged her. Aura shook her head; this was one fight she _had_ to back down from. Her life truly existed on it. 

"I protect Shaya," she said softly. Her mother smiled at her, and Zedd laughed. 

"So be it!" he declared. He sprang at her, his staff transformed into a sword. Aura, still unarmed and unmorphed, parried his every thrust and blow, using skills her father had taught her over the past three months. Shaya and Goldar fought, with Shaya's skill in magic easily countering Goldar's sheer mass. 

"You're going to pay for what you tried to do to me, Zedd," Aura swore as he and she traded blow after blow. She was totally unprepared for what he retorted with. 

"Funny, you seemed to enjoy it!" 

Aura stepped back a little, taking a nasty cut on her arm as she failed to block his blow adequately enough. She growled deep in her throat; this moron had just torn her best shirt! And his henchidiot was threatening her mother: and herself. The time for pretense was over! "Maybe you'd like to know just who you're fighting, Zedd!" 

"I am fighting a weakling!" Aura nodded to herself; that was the last straw! She spin kicked him, knocking him all the way across the room. She needed the space to do what she was going to do next. 

She morphed. 

"I am Aura Cranston, the Amber Ranger!" she declared, calling forth her Ax. Zedd stared at her; this wasn't remotely possible! 

"This is impossible!" 

"Don't you believe your own eyes?" Aura pressed the attack forward, seizing the moment and driving him away. "Why do you call it impossible?" 

"You're not a firstborn! You're not of the line of Alanatrius!" 

"Wanna bet?" 

"How?" Zedd wanted to know; but Aura had no intentions of telling him! 

"That's for me to know and you not to find out!" _at least not for about fifty thousand years or so!_

"We shall see!" Zedd promised as they dueled. Finally she delivered a near-fatal stroke that shattered his sword in two. He glared evilly at her. _What a warrior! What a queen she shall make once I have conquered that proud spirit of hers! The day will come!_

"We will meet again," he told her, then vanished, taking Goldar with him. Neras appeared just outside the house a few moments later and ran up to them. 

"Are you two all right?" he asked. "I saw Zedd and Goldar on the EagleZord's monitors and came as fast as I could." 

Aura demorphed and nodded as she looked to Shaya in concern. The sorceress smiled. "Just a little tired, but I and the baby are all right." 

"How did things go in the fight at the capital?" Aura asked, feeling a certain professional curiosity. Her father shrugged. 

"They destroyed some buildings, but no one was hurt." 

Aura smiled; she felt a certain concern for the people of Kalakan, even though she knew they were all doomed. Then something occurred to her. "Zedd knows what I am now, at least that I'm an Amber Ranger." 

Neras shrugged. "You defended Shaya. ..and yourself. He won't figure out the truth, not about where. . . and when. . . you're from, anyway, not if we're careful." 

The three of them looked quietly at each other, finding a new bond in what had just happened. Though Neras had married another, Shaya carried his child, and that child, returned from the future, had defended her own existence. 

The typical family they were not. 

**The End**


	23. Future Amber

**Future Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

Five months had passed since the wedding of Neras and Selania. Aura and Shaya had become very close, even though Aura couldn't tell so much she wanted to. As they sat together one fall evening, Aura mused over what she had left in the future: and what she'd found in the past. 

"Kalakan is so beautiful," she sighed. "It's hard to imagine not growing up here." 

"True," Shaya agreed with her; she couldn't imagine growing up anywhere else. "Aura, tell me of your friends, the ones in your time." 

Aura thought over all the friends she had; the truest, most loyal friends it was possible _to_ have. She smiled; there was one person she wanted Shaya to know of. "I'll tell you someone I miss. Azure, my sister. Well, adopted sister. It doesn't matter; we grew up together, we're sisters, that's all that counts." 

"She must miss you a lot too!" Shaya observed. Aura nodded; the five months she'd been here had given her time not just to heal physically, but to realize how much she missed her friends. 

"I've been out of touch with them for _months_! I hope they're all right while I'm gone." 

Shaya smiled at her daughter's concern. "They should be fine." 

Aura didn't stop worrying that easily, though. "They don't even know where I am; the Spirit of Earth didn't tell them, I think. Or should I say 'when' I am?" she couldn't help but giggle then. 

"Do you know when she is coming back for you?" Shaya knew that Aura wouldn't be there forever, and it depressed her a trifle. Even knowing she carried the same child in her womb wasn't enough to lift her mood. 

"Whenever I'm completely healed and trained," Aura knew she still had some healing left to do. "It shouldn't be much longer." 

The sorceress sighed a little. "You will be missed." 

Aura bit her lip; she knew better than to say anything about what was going to happen. "And I'll miss you as well," she decided was the safest thing to say. _How can I tell her the truth? That Father will die, I will be sent fifty thousand years ahead in time, and that she must wait for me to return?_ "Would you have to go to the Heart of Kalakan for the birth? I know I had to go to the Heart of Earth when the twins came." 

Shaya nodded. "I've got about three weeks left, more or less. I'm going to go to the Heart then," on Kalakan; having a child out of wedlock was not considered scandalous, if true love was involved. Love and politics were two different things, and the entire planet knew that Neras loved Shaya, not Selania. Selania herself had sent a gift to Shaya in honor of the upcoming birth. 

Aura felt a sudden chill, as if someone was looking at her. She glanced around, but the only people to be seen for miles were Shaya and herself. She dismissed the feeling; it was probably nothing anyway. * * * 

Zedd entered his quarters on his spacecraft, deep in thought over what he had just learned. On one of his regular spying trips on Aura, he had found out something he'd never even dreamed was true! "Goldar!" he bellowed out his servant's name. The great winged ape entered the room. 

"Yes, sire?" he asked; Ever since Zedd's thwarted attack on the capital of Kalakan, he'd been banned from the planet. Everyone knew he was attempting to take over, and every force they had was on guard against him. 

"We must capture Aura; she is from the _future_!" Zedd was a trifle amazed by this; to discover his future queen quite possibly hadn't even been born yet was disconcerting. No matter; he could use her knowledge of what was to come to his advantage. 

"The future, sire?" Goldar looked confused; he'd not been hired for his brains, after all. Zedd nodded. "How shall we capture her, sire?" 

_She is a fierce warrior, and it will not be easy to subdue her_. "That is the hard part," Zedd considered various options, turning over many thoughts in his mind. He was just barely able to stop himself from a full fledged fantasy about Aura, that had nothing whatsoever to do with capturing her for her knowledge of the future. 

"Do you have a plan yet, sire?" Goldar asked, seeing the slightly more interested look in his master's eyes. Zedd glanced down at Kalakan, then smiled as he saw Neras and Selania returning to their home. 

"She is sure to go visit Neras now that he is back," Zedd declared. "We shall ambush her on the way there!" 

Goldar scratched his head; this was too confusing for him. "Sire, if she is from the future, won't she be able to know when we're going to ambush her?" 

_I don't believe I hired this imbecile!_ "I don't think so," was all he said, too enraged to speak much more than that. Goldar shrugged. 

"Just let me know when to attack her, sire," he said. He was a warrior, that's all there was to it. He fought. He didn't think. 

"Trust me, I will," Zedd glanced briefly at him, wondering if he should send the blithering idiot to school. _No. It wouldn't do any good. But if he can bring me Aura, with her knowledge of the future, then that will be good enough. Of course, having her here to be my queen will be even better! Look out, Aura. You're coming back to me: like it or not._ * * * 

Aura was practicing her axplay in her mother's training area when a messenger came to the door. As her mother met the man, her thoughts were all on the flowing movements of her weapon, with occasional side thoughts for Billy. 

"Aura," Shaya came over to her, with a wide grin spread across her face. Aura glanced towards her, raising an eyebrow in query. "You've been summoned by your father!" 

Aura's grin answered her mother's. "He's back?" 

"It appears so," Shaya read the message out loud. "Selania wasn't feel very well, so they came back early, and he wants to see you at once." 

Aura smiled, she hadn't seen her father since the battle just after the wedding. "I'll go at once," she decided. Shaya agreed and asked her to send Neras all her love. "I will," the child from the future nodded as she hugged her mother. "I'll be back later tonight." 

"I'll have a nice dinner waiting for you," Shaya promised. Aura smiled; Shaya's cooking was splendid now, and it was only going to improve over the next fifty thousand years. * * * 

Aura headed down the road, humming under her breath that same tune she hummed so often. Things were going just fine, there had been no sign of Zedd in months, she'd learned a lot from her mother, and she had an idea she'd be going home in a couple of weeks. 

"Hello, Amber Ranger!" Goldar was suddenly in front of her in the road. Aura jumped back, her good mood vanishing into thin air. 

"What do you want?" she asked, hoping Zedd hadn't decided he wanted to marry her again! Once had been _more_ than enough! 

"You!" he pointed at her with his sword. Aura remembered other times he'd said that, and she hadn't liked them anymore than she did now. 

"Don't you ever get tired of saying that?" she wondered, giggling at the confused look on Goldar's face as she spoke. He growled harshly in his confusion. 

"Now, come!" he was suddenly surrounded by a small army of gray warriors, who bobbed and weaved and made what she could only describe as a 'burbling' sound. She remembered Billy describing these things to her, they were called Putties. She grinned to herself as battle was joined; these things were wimps compared to the Tengas she was used to fighting. 

A blinding pain across the back of her head ended the battle, as Goldar struck her there hard with the hilt of his sword. She slumped unconscious to the ground and he laughed as he picked her up. "Weak!" he proclaimed._ I don't know what Lord Zedd sees in her; she's no warrior! A real warrior wouldn't have went out with one hit!_

He teleported back to Zedd's hidden base and quickly locked her into a cell there at his master's command. Zedd passed the time until Aura awakened staring almost mindlessly at her. As her eyes flickered open, he smiled. 

"Greetings," he said politely. _She is beautiful when she awakens, as always. I will have that beauty for my own forever: soon._

Aura was on her feet a moment after her head cleared, looking around to see what was going on. _This just isn't my day!_ "What am I doing here? Let me go now, Zedd!" 

Zedd shook his head. "I want to know about the future," he told her. He still looked at her in that same way; but now his evil was evident. 

_How'd he find out about that? _"What are you talking about?" she laughed at him. "I don't know anything about the future!" 

He glared at her. "I know you are from the future!" 

Aura returned his glare for one of her own. "What makes you think that?" 

"You told me," he explained. "Actually, you told Shaya, and I heard you. I watch you, Aura. All the time." 

_If he lays a finger on me, I'm going to kill him, then throw up. _"Why should I tell you anything?" 

He played his trump card. "If not, I kill Shaya and the baby!" he intended to kill them anyway, but that was beside the point. He smiled a little as she paled. "You don't think I'd do it? Do you?" 

"You can't," Aura's voice shook suddenly. _He can't kill that baby! That baby is ME!_

"Why not?" he asked, a cold grin spreading across his face. She was scared, this was quite enjoyable. He wondered if he could persuade her into marriage by threatening them as well. . . 

"Because. . .I. . .you. . .you just can't!" Aura declared. She couldn't let him hurt that child, especially not before she was even born! 

Zedd laughed low and evilly. "Now, will you tell me about the future, or see the child and its mother die?" 

_I don't believe this, he's holding me hostage so that I can tell him about the future. I'll have to lie, until I can get out of here. Like he's even going to know I'm lying! _"Wha. . .what do you want to know?" She was rather proud of the way she'd stammered with that; she sounded very hesitant and afraid! She grinned a little; a perfect idea had just formed. "Want me to tell you that you're as much of a jerk _now_ as you're going to be when I'm from?" 

The sound of his hissing anger was music to her ears. * * * 

A quiet knock came to Shaya's door as she put the finishing touches on supper. She was expecting Aura home soon, and smiled lightly to herself as she touched her heavy stomach._ I already know so much about you, little one. But there is still more I do not know. I love you._

She opened the door to see Neras smiling at her. "Hello," she greeted her love. Neras smiled and gave her a gentle kiss. 

"Hello, Shaya. Is Aura here?" 

Shaya frowned. "No, she was going to visit you!" _This isn't good. Not good at all._

Neras looked down the path and she could feel his worry for their child. "She never showed up. How long ago did she leave?" 

"Almost three hours," she told him. The normal trip between their homes took less than thirty minutes to walk. Shaya felt a thin thread of fear caress her spine. "Something must have happened to her." 

"I wish I knew what," Neras bit his lip in frustration. An idea flicked through the sorceress's mind. 

"Could she have gone back to her own time?" 

"Without saying good-bye?" Neras raised an eyebrow. "I think the Spirit of Earth would at least let her do that." 

She nodded. "You're right. Could it be Zedd?" they both knew of the unwholesome interest the evil dictator-wannabe had for Aura. 

"Who else _would_ take Aura?" Neras began to pace; this wasn't good at all. There was no telling what Zedd would or could do to her, and anything could upset the delicate balance of time and space. That wasn't even mentioning what it would do to Aura's emotional well-being. She'd healed so much and so fast, but this could damage her recovery permanently. . . 

"Neras, we've got to get her back!" Shaya declared, her mother's love flaring up sharp and strong. Someone threatened her child, and she would go through hell itself to get Aura back safely. Neras nodded. 

"And quickly. Do you think you could find her?" 

Shaya started for her magical workroom. "I'll do my best," was all she could promise. _And my best had better be good enough, for Aura's sake._ * * * 

Zedd glared with all his evil might at Aura, hoping to terrify her into submission to his will. "You will tell me!" he stepped closer to her. "Why do you protect Earth instead of Kalakan?" 

"It's a nicer neighborhood," Aura wisecracked. _Then of course, there's the small detail that Kalakan no longer exists in my time. But you don't need to know that!_

"Foolish girl!" Zedd snarled. _I hate to do this, but even from her I will not take such insolence! _"Goldar!" 

"Yes, sire?" Goldar was right there, ready to do his master's evil bidding. Zedd pointed at Aura as the cage swung open. 

"Have fun," he said coldly. Aura took a deep breath, remembering how badly Goldar had beaten her in Zedd's dungeon in her time. 

_Relax, you were chained up then. You're not now. You can do this._ Goldar came towards her, laughing. "It will be my pleasure to destroy her!" he declared. Aura couldn't help but laugh at that. 

"You don't want to know how many times I've heard you say something like that!" she told him. The fight was short and ugly and ended with one clear victor. Neras arrived just as the fight ended, teleported by Shaya's magic, and stared in wide-eyed wonder at the scene before him. 

Aura dusted her knuckles lightly off on her blouse and smiled. "Sheesh, I thought this was supposed to be hard," she declared. Goldar wasn't quite the massive warrior he was in her own time, and her knowledge of his moves gave her a definite advantage, one she wasn't above using. Her father looked at her in definite approval. 

"And here I thought you needed help," was all he said. Aura smiled at him as she stepped over Goldar's groaning form. 

"Well, I could use a ride back to your place!" she told him. Neras laughed as Zedd stamped his staff hard on the floor tiles. 

"I think not!" 

Aura casually glanced at him. "I've known _that_ for years!" she couldn't resist saying it. No one could have! Neras chuckled as he took a long, measuring look at Zedd. 

"I suggest you leave, Zedd, now!" 

Aura nodded as she stood beside Neras. "We'll meet again, Zedd, but it won't be a pleasure then, and it certainly isn't one now!" _And every time is less of a pleasure than the last!_

"Kalakan will belong to me," Zedd proclaimed, leveling a steely glance at the female Amber Ranger. "And so will you, Aura. So will you." 

As the father and daughter vanished, Zedd roused Goldar with a few kicks and zaps from his staff. "Prepare a full scale attack!" he ordered. Kalakan would fall! Or die. * * * 

Kalakan died. Neras did his best to stop the attacks, but he was only one man, and he could not be everywhere at once. Aura would have helped, and wanted to more than she let on, but Shaya foresaw attempts on her own life that had to be thwarted. Aura wept ceaselessly as city after city was destroyed by Zedd, Goldar, the Putties, and the seemingly endless hordes of lethal monsters. Thousands, millions of people died, including Selania, Neras' wife. 

Three slow, pain-filled weeks went by. Aura, Shaya, and Neras were the only people left alive on the entire planet. Zedd hadn't stopped, though, he fully intended to destroy every living thing on Kalakan. The small family had moved into the Heart of Kalakan, and as they discussed plans to drive Zedd away one day, Shaya looked up suddenly, face creased with pain. 

"It is time!" she declared. Neras and Aura exchanged quick glances, then started helping her with the birth as best they could. Aura remembered the advice she'd been given during her own labor, and started urging her mother to breath repeatedly. 

"I am breathing!" Shaya told them through clenched teeth. Things were going well, with the actual childbirth only moments away, when the Spirit of Kalakan appeared, eyes wide with pain. 

"Kalakan is under attack," she said softly. Neras held Shaya's hand, and glanced helplessly about; he couldn't leave her, but he couldn't let his world just die! 

Aura stood up, a cold strength in her eyes._ Kalakan is my home, as much as Earth is. I was born here. I used the powers of the Amber Ranger of Kalakan to defend Earth in my ignorance, now I will use the powers of Earth to defend Kalakan, in full knowledge. _

"Father, I will deal with this," she told him. "You have to see me be born." 

Neras looked at her with grateful eyes. _She truly is my daughter. I am so very proud of her._ "Go, my daughter. Defend our world." * * * 

Aura appeared at the battle site, eyes blazing with raw anger as she launched herself into the middle of the battle. She saw Zedd and Goldar on a hill watching the entire thing, and growled deep in her throat._ They will pay for this. I knew Kalakan died, but I didn't think it was of this magnitude!_

"Ah, so Neras appears at last," Zedd glared down at the brown-clad figure wielding the Ax. Aura chuckled under her breath; he though she was her father. As she ran closer to him, he got a better look, and saw the emblem on her shield was not that of Kalakan. 

"Great," he smiled to himself. "It's Aura," _Ah, to see my queen come running to me. What a wonderful sight. I don't know how she has the Amber Ranger powers, but it is of no matter. She will bow to me, and claim me as her husband one day!_

"You didn't think I'd let you attack and get away with it, did you?" she challenged him as she came to the top of the hill to face them. 

Zedd suddenly realized something. _Aura has never come to fight us before, Neras has always done that. Wait, I know why he's not here!_ "I take it Shaya is having her child?" evil glee filled him; it was time to destroy the Alantrius line once and for all! 

"That's none of your concern!" Aura snapped, not wanting him to interfere in her own birth. She didn't even want him to be in the same galaxy as he was! "I always thought you were more concerned with death than birth, Zedd!" 

He laughed. "Oh, but I am, when it also means their death! Goldar!" 

The winged ape stepped up. "Yes, sire?" 

"Attack the Heart of Kalakan," he ordered. Goldar took off at once, heading for the one place still clean of destruction in that world. 

"NO!" Aura screamed. Zedd grabbed her arm and pulled her close to him. 

"Oh, but yes," his laughter was almost the duplicate of what it would be in the future and it revolted Aura. He looked deep into her eyes, captivated by the hatred he saw broiling there. "Marry me, Aura, and I will stop this attack, and spare the life of Shaya, Neras, and their child! Kalakan is dead, but I can give you the whole of the universe to rule over by my side, as a queen!" 

Aura slammed her knee into his groin harshly for a reply. "Even if I wasn't already married to someone I love with all my heart, I'd never ally myself with something as evil as you, Zedd. Get out of my way, I've got a life to save!" 

As she ran at top speed back to the Heart, Zedd forced himself to his feet again, watching her retreating figure. "You will be mine, Aura! I swear this!" * * * 

Shaya and Neras looked at the beautiful baby girl in Shaya's arms. "She is so lovely," Neras watched as the amber necklace formed about her neck. "And what a destiny lies ahead of her." 

_You have no idea, my love. You have no idea. _Shaya was about to say something, when Goldar charged into the Heart, sword in hand. "Drat! I'm too late!" 

Aura was just a step behind him, and heard that. She smiled to herself. _I'm born. Imagine that._ Neras was staring at Goldar in utter disgust. 

"How dare you come here?!" 

"I dare because I can!" Goldar snarled as he headed for Shaya and the baby. Aura saw where he was going, and knew she couldn't run fast enough to get between them. She could, however, jump enough. With one fluid movement, she landed in between Goldar and her family. 

His sword sliced cleanly through her shoulder, tearing muscles and skin, and grating on the bone. She bit back an oath, then slammed Goldar in the stomach with her uninjured arm. "Get out of here!" she snapped, her eyes burning with fury. Goldar backed away, not wanting to risk a conflict with two Amber Rangers, and disappeared. Aura, ignoring the blood pouring from her shoulder, turned to Shaya. 

"Are you all right?" 

"We are fine," she told the female Ranger. "But you are not." 

"Come here," Neras morphed and called his Ax. "Let me heal that for you." 

A moment later, she was healed completely. She smiled, flexing the shoulder this way and that. "Thanks, Father," she said, then glanced at her infant self. "So that's what I looked like when I was born." 

"Yes," Shaya nodded, looking from her adult daughter to the newborn in her arms. _I wonder. . .were we the ones who named her Aura? Somehow. .. I doubt that._

"Could. . .I know it's silly, but. . .could I name her. .. me. . .whatever?" 

Neras glanced at Shaya, who nodded briefly. "Be our guest. After all, it is you we are talking about here!" 

Aura glanced at the little baby, and bit her lip. _I love my name. . .both of them. I could. . .no, I know what I must do._ "Alaina," she whispered the name. "Her name is Alaina." 

"But your name is Aura!" Neras stared at her in confusion, not quite understanding what had just happened. Aura smiled a little. 

"I know, but please, just trust me," she asked him. He nodded; if one couldn't trust one's own child, who could one trust? * * * 

A week of death and devastation followed, far greater than any before. Aura and Neras did what they could, but they both knew it was a lost cause. Kalakan was dead; that was all there was to it. They fought now only to protect the Heart, and the hope for the future that the infant Alaina represented. 

"You are so beautiful," Shaya observed quietly one day. She and Neras had just completed the message to their newborn daughter that now rested within her amulet; waiting for the right moment to come so that she might unlock it. "Both as a baby and as a grown woman." 

Aura smiled a little; she hadn't been able to feel very cheerful the past week. She knew, even though she hadn't been able to bring herself to tell her parents, that today would be the last day Kalakan truly existed. At some point that day, Neras would die, and her younger self would be sent into the future. 

"Thank you, Mother," was all she could say. She didn't want to let Shaya know what was to come; let them live their dreams for now. _I will be going home today, healed and whole at last. Father did so much for me, and I cannot thank him enough. My life would not be enough thanks for what he has done for me. Nothing would be._

Her eyes flicked towards Shaya, who stiffened suddenly. Aura had seen this before, while they were journeying home from Kalakan to Earth. Shaya was having a vision. A moment later, the sorceress relaxed, and looked at the baby in her arms with eyes full of tears. "So," she murmured. "this is why you will grow up on Earth." 

Aura bit her lip; she hadn't wanted either of them to know. "I didn't want to tell you," she whispered. "I didn't want you to know what I do." 

Shaya touched her arm gently. "It's all right, Aura. I have long since accepted the destiny that fate has laid out for me. I know what must be done." 

Aura was about to ask something else, when Neras entered the small shelter and sat beside them. He was haggard and worn, no longer the proud warrior he had been just nine months prior. He had fought from one end of Kalakan to the other, only to see his people all slaughtered under the onslaught of Zedd's forces. 

"Now I know why there are other Rangers in your time, Aura," he told her. "Defending an entire planet is too much for one person with Zedd around." 

"I know," she sighed. "I've lost track of the number of monsters he's sent down just since I've been on the Ranger team in my time. I don't even know how many he used before then." 

"Our world is dead," he said softly. "But you live, and you are the hope and the future of Kalakan." 

Aura and Shaya exchanged glances; Shaya knew the fate that awaited their world now, fifty thousand years ahead in time. She could not, would not say it to Neras. Neither of them would. "I will do what I can to keep this place alive," she promised him, knowing even as she did so that she would only be able to keep it alive in her memories. _But even so, memories are better than nothing. So long as I live, Kalakan lives in my heart._

"Neras. Shaya," the Spirit of Kalakan appeared next to them. "There is another attack beginning. Zedd must not be permitted to destroy the Heart, if he does, then all is indeed lost." 

"Spirit," Neras said suddenly. "Our daughter, Alaina. The next Amber Ranger. She must be taken to safety. Kalakan is no place for her now." 

The Spirit nodded. "I can take her to Earth, where she will fit in and be accepted as one of their own kind. In the fullness of time, she will return, and fate will take it's course," the Spirit knew who and what Aura was as well as any of them did. Shaya glanced at Aura, then Alaina, then the Spirit, and finally at Aura. 

"I-I can't bear to give her up," she whispered. "Not knowing if I'll ever see her again." 

The emotion in Shaya's voice was simply too strong. Aura could hold back no longer. "Mother, you will see me again. I can promise you this." 

Shaya looked at her as she held the baby close to her heart. "What do you mean?" 

Aura couldn't look at any of them, she looked instead at the star-spangled sky spread over them. She knew instinctively where Earth was, and it was there she looked, pulling strength and courage from the world she was sworn to protect. "In my time, you're still alive. You lived, to wait for me. You saved my life, Mother," she would say no more than that. 

Her father watched the exchange with quiet eyes. Shaya glanced at him, then at Aura again. "I can keep myself alive with my magic, yes. But I can't do it to anyone else." 

"I know," Aura whispered. "Oh, how I know!" _I would have given everything to know you both! But I can't!_

Shaya took a deep breath, then held out little Alaina to the Spirit. "Take her where she needs to go," she requested. "Let her live the life destiny has planned for her." 

The Spirit nodded and took the baby, fading away. Aura looked at Neras. "She said another attack was starting," she said. "We're going to go take care of it. Both of us." 

He wasn't going to argue with her, he knew that. There was simply no other way to stop the army heading towards them. She wouldn't have her Zord, being displaced in time the way she was, but she had her powers, and her skills as a warrior. That would be more than enough, when combined with Neras and his EagleZord. 

"Let's do it," was all he said. They both stood and twin cries of _Amber Ranger Power_ split the air. Shaya teleported them to the battle site, and sighed a little to herself, looking around the deserted Heart. 

"Be safe, my daughter. My love, I will miss you," a silent tear coursed it's way down her cheek. "I will always love you, Neras. Forever." * * * 

Goldar was in the forefront of the army, leading them on towards the Heart of Kalakan, sword in hand. The monsters and putties were going to destroy that place, rip it up, and put the last remaining Kalakans in the universe to the most viscous and horrible deaths imaginable. 

It was going to be a great day. 

Twin flashes of light spoiled everything, as Neras and Aura appeared before them. Already morphed, they were distinguishable only by their height and the designs emblazoned on their shields. Aura stood proudly erect, her Ax in her hands, and shouted forth a ringing challenge to the army approaching. 

"Halt!" she declared. "You shall go no further! The Heart of Kalakan is sacred, and your evil will not touch it!" 

"Ah, the Amber idiots have arrived!" Goldar declared, testing the edge of his sword and staring hungrily at the two warriors there. He had waited too long to get a chance at both of them. Neras had hurt him in the last battle, and he simply hated Aura. 

"In fifty thousand years, you don't get any smarter, trust me," Aura told him, running towards him. Neras was going to handle the regular monsters, but it was personal between Aura and Goldar. She'd told her father that; and he hadn't objected to her fighting him on her own. 

"We shall see about that!" Goldar promised. He knew something she didn't, and it was going to be a major shock when Zedd's little surprise happened. He smiled briefly; things were going just as his master had planned them. 

Aura blocked Goldar's first strike at her, then the two of them settled into a duel the likes of which hadn't been seen on Kalakan in centuries. Blows and insults flew thick and hard between them as they fought back and forth across the battlefield. Aura almost didn't see the beam of light that lashed through and struck Neras in the back. 

She would have heard his scream of pain anywhere though, from the depths of death, much less across a raging battlefield. She kicked Goldar away from her and ran towards him, throwing her helmet off as she did so, and dropped to her knees beside him. "Father," she whispered, removing his helmet gently. He was breathing far too shallowly for Aura's taste, and his face was pure gray. 

"Aura," he whispered, trying to focus on her eyes. "My Aura," he smiled a little. 

"Father," she bent over him, her heart breaking. "No, Father, you can't die!" 

"I am . . .so proud of you. . .," he told her. "You. . .fight well. . .you. . .are a true. . . Ranger. . ." 

"I named my son after you," she cried out, wanting him to know everything, but with time only for a few brief words. "His name is Alexander Neras Cranston!" 

"Thank you," he was slipping away, she was being surrounded by monsters. She didn't care, all that mattered to her was the dying man in her arms. "I love you. . .my daughter. . .my Aura. . .my Alaina. . ." 

Neras Alanatrius, the thirty-fifth Amber Ranger of Kalakan, died in the arms of his daughter from the future, Aura Lynn Robinson Cranston, Alaina Alanatrius, the thirty-sixth Amber Ranger of Kalakan and the first Amber Ranger of Earth. 

Aura threw her head back and screamed her rage to the uncaring heavens. She bent over him, rocking back and forth, until cruel arms tore her from him and dragged her to her feet. She found herself pushed in front of Zedd, held by Goldar's powerful arms. 

"I have won," he said simply, looking deeply into her gray eyes. "Will you still defy me, Aura, or will you submit the inevitable and marry me?" 

She couldn't believe her ears. This monster had just proposed to her _again_, after killing her father! What arrogance! He was. . .ohh, her imagination balked at describing him in enough hideous detail. There was only one answer that she could ever, would ever give him! 

"Never!" she hissed, breaking free of Goldar's grip and out of the ring of monsters that surrounded her. "By my very life and soul, I'll marry you on the day the universe _dies_ and not until!" 

Aura picked up her father's body and headed for the Heart of Kalakan at a run, ignoring the monsters that did their best to stop her. Halfway there, she vanished, teleported in by her mother's magic. Zedd watched her go, a satisfied smile on his lips. 

_You escape me for now, Aura. I know you're going home soon. And I will be waiting for you. You cannot flee forever, and you will discover one day that all your running has only led you straight into my arms, where you will remain forever. _

_You will be mine: my wife or my slave. I will have you, Aura Cranston: Amber Ranger of Earth. Forever._ * * * 

Aura appeared in the Heart, stumbling over to Shaya with Neras' body still in her arms. Her mother ran over to her, taking the corpse from her. "My love," she whispered brokenly. "I knew this day would come, but I had hoped it would not come at the same time!" 

"Mother," Aura knew her time here had ended. The Spirit of Earth's appearance at that moment only confirmed it. "Oh, Mother, I must go! It's too soon, though!" 

Shaya embraced her, tears falling from her expressive eyes. "Aura, I will love you forever, my daughter, and will remain here for all time if I must to wait for you." 

"Not all time," the Spirit of Kalakan appeared to stand beside her sister spirit. "Only fifty thousand years. That is when I took your daughter, fifty thousand years ahead in time, to Earth." 

Shaya glanced up at Aura, who could only nod. "When I come back, Mother, I have one request to make." 

"What is that?" 

"Have a spaceship ready to leave the moment I arrive," she whispered, remembering the pain she had been in on that horrible moment. _I thought the Rangers hated me, I thought Billy and Azure were against me. All I wanted to do was die. I'm so glad I didn't._

Shaya nodded, not quite understand why, but accepting her daughter's knowledge. The Spirit of Kalakan went to Neras' body, and touched it lightly. In moments, he was nothing but ash which blew away in the wind, the proper way for an Amber Ranger to be honored in death. She turned to Aura and placed both hands on her shoulders. 

"Aura, I will always be with you, in your heart and soul," she said gently. "When all seems darkest for you, remember where you come from. Remember that while it is Earth you protect, it is Kalakan that gave Earth that protector." 

The Spirit of Earth joined them. "We are one, Aura, now and forever. You have accomplished that which you came into the past to do, and now it is time for you to return home." 

The Spirit of Kalakan nodded. "But before you go, one last warning. There is a foe you must face one day that is more dangerous than any you can imagine. I cannot speak of him, for to do so invites trouble to Kalakan, and my poor world has suffered more than enough. I say only this: beware the killer of the bond." 

"The killer of the bond?" Aura wondered. The Spirit faded away, and the Spirit of Earth took Aura's hand gently. 

"It is time to go home," she told her. "All is done here." 

"One last good-bye," Aura whispered, looking at her grieving mother. She stepped over to her and held her with all her love. "Mother, I will love you forever, and I thank you for everything you and Father did for me while I was here." 

Shaya hugged her daughter with all her might. "I will heal Kalakan," she promised. "When you return, it will be the beauty I remember again." 

"I know it will be," Aura whispered. "I love you, Mother. I love you so very much." 

"I love you, Aura," Shaya whispered in return. "And will love you until the end of time, my beautiful warrior daughter. Be strong." 

They stood there together, for a timeless moment, mother and daughter, united by love, separated by time, together forever. * * * 

Billy Cranston watched, an indulgent smile on his face, as Rocky DeSantos played horsy with his daughter Alaina. The pendent around her neck flashed, reminding him yet again of his beloved wife. _Aura, where are you? It's been three days. Four days since we rescued her, three days since that clone of yours showed up. And since Rita and Zedd quit. I still can't believe that._

Zordon had confirmed that Rita and Zedd had left the Lunar Palace and had last been seen heading in the direction of the M-51 Galaxy. According to the computers, that was where Rita's father, Master Vile, lived. Zordon wasn't certain if they planned to return, therefore the Rangers would keep their powers for one full year after this. If there was no sign of their enemies at the end of the year, then all the Rangers, except Aura when she returned, would be retired, hopefully permanently. 

"Wheeee!" Rocky galloped up and down the room with Alaina in his arms, giggling with delight. Billy smiled; it was obvious Rocky would make an excellent father one day. _My kids need their mother back. Maybe I should try and go to the Heart of Earth; see if she's there and all right._

Billy's thoughts were interrupted as the door swung open, and Aura casually walked in. She sat in her usual chair, and glanced over at him. "It's your turn to cook dinner, isn't it?" 

Rocky and Billy both stared in shocked disbelief. "A. . .Aura?" Billy stammered for a moment._ If this is another clone. . .another trick. .._

Aura leaped to her feet, ran across to him, and caught him up in a hug and kiss that knew no bounds. He knew even as she did so this was her, this was his wife and his love. "Aura," he whispered. 

"Oh, Billy," she murmured into his ear. "Oh, Billy, I missed you so much." 

He stepped away for a moment to look at her, eyes widening as he saw how much leaner and stronger she looked. Wherever she had been, it had obviously done good for her. She had been simply beautiful before, now she was awe-inspiring! 

"You look great!" Rocky observed as he stood up and held Alaina out to her mother. Billy held his breath for a moment, remembering how the clone had inspired Alaina's tears. His fears ceased, however, when his daughter giggled and cooed at Aura, who looked down at the child with such love and tenderness he knew this was his true love. 

"Where have you been?" Billy asked as he picked Alexander up out of the playpen and held him. The baby Amber Ranger gurgled and tried to reach out for his mother. 

Aura stepped over to him and smiled. "Would you believe me if I told you I was fifty thousand years in the past, and met my father?" 

He laughed. "Actually, Aura, I'd believe just about anything! We've got a lot to catch you up on." 

Rocky cleared his throat and when Aura looked over, he was holding an envelope in his hands. "Remember, Billy? Adam and Azure left this in case Aura got back before they did." 

As Aura took the envelope and started to read the enclosed letter, she absently played with the amulet around Alaina's neck. As she came to the end of the note, she smiled. "It's about time those two got married. I wish they'd waited for me to come back, though." 

"Well, they sort of did. . .and didn't," Rocky told her. Aura raised an eyebrow, and the Red Ranger quickly explained about the clone and what had happened with it. Aura trembled a little at the mention of how the clone had quite literally given up her very existence to save Azure's life. 

_I would have done that. I would have done it so fast it would have made that monster's head spin. That thing was too much like me. Maybe that's a good thing. I wouldn't have liked coming back to my entire family dead._

A knock came at the door, and Aura automatically went to answer it. She was rewarded by a pair of arms being thrown around her neck, a powerful hug, and a cry of "Aura, you're home!" 

"Yeah, and it's really me this time, not that clone," Aura told her sister. Azure and Adam entered, eyes dancing with glee at the return of the Amber Ranger. She smiled at them. "So, Mr. and Mrs. Park, how have things been since I've been gone?" 

"So, you saw the letter," Adam chuckled. "It was Azure's idea to elope, Aura. We wanted to make sure that Zedd and Rita didn't interfere in our wedding." 

Azure nodded, then smiled a little. "Not like we have to worry about that anymore. Their interference, that is." 

"What do you mean?" Aura wondered. She still remembered, with a shiver, the look of desire and possession in Zedd's eyes fifty thousand years ago._ I wonder why he didn't remember me when my powers started showing themselves. Well, it has been fifty thousand years. Imagine, a senile Zedd!!_

"They quit," Rocky giggled. "Rita and Zedd quit!" 

Aura found herself sitting down; luckily there was a chair right where she sat. Absently she unfastened the necklace around Alaina's neck and slipped it back around her own. If any of them had any doubts remaining, that solved them all; only the true Amber Ranger could remove the amber necklace. "They quit?" she repeated._ Not that I'm complaining, but I go through all that just to be able to fight again, and when I get back, there's no one TO fight!_

Billy told her of the package they'd received telling of Rita and Zedd's withdrawal. Azure noticed a slight tightening of Aura's jaw whenever Zedd's name was mentioned. She knew Aura, and something more than just the torment she'd went through in his dungeon's was causing this reaction. She stood up suddenly. 

"Aura, we need to talk," Azure told her. She jerked her head towards the bedroom. "In private." 

Aura bit her lip, looking up at her sister, then nodded, almost to herself it seemed. She put Alaina back in the playpen and headed back to the room with Azure. Adam and Billy exchanged almost confused glances, and finally the Black Ranger shrugged his shoulders. 

"Girl talk?" * * * 

"What happened, Aura?" Azure asked bluntly. "Where did the Spirit take you to heal, and why are you almost jumping every time someone mentions Zedd's name?" 

Aura sighed. "I'm not sure if you're going to believe me," she said. "If it hadn't happened to me, I know I wouldn't have. It's just too strange." 

"Enough of how strange it is, and talk to me," Azure looked directly into her sister's cloud-like eyes. "Please, Aura." 

She sighed and glanced for a moment at the chunk of amber beside the bed. Somehow, seeing the essence for which she was named gave her strength. "I didn't precisely go to a where. I went to a when. the Spirit took me back fifty thousand years in time, to Kalakan, in the last nine months of it's life. I've been with my father, Azure. I have spent the last nine months with Neras Alanatrius." 

It was safe to say if Azure hadn't seen all the things she had over the past year and more, she would have thought her sister had gone mad. But as more and more of the story came spilling out, Azure realized that Aura had went through more than any of them could have imagined. They had lived three days waiting for her to return. She had lived a lifetime. 

Azure found her fists tightening with rage as she heard of Zedd's attempts to take Aura for his queen. As Aura told her of the love potion, and of how close it had come to working forever, Azure wrapped her arms around her sister tightly and held her through the sobs that followed. But the tale wasn't over yet, and as Aura told of how Zedd had killed Neras in pure cold blood, Azure swore something in the silence of her soul. 

_If I can, somehow, in some way, I will destroy him. Though it cost me everything, I will do it, for my sister. She went back in time to heal, she didn't need to have him hurting her all over again. Not like that, of all ways! _

Her attention was brought back to reality when Aura's racking sobs became wails of agonizing pain. A knock came on the door, and Billy's voice said, "Aura? Are you all right?" 

"Y-yes, Billy," she replied carefully. "We'll be out soon." 

He stood there for a moment, obviously torn between his respect for her privacy, and his need to help her out. Finally he walked away, leaving them to each other. Aura sighed a little, her tears ended for now. Now that she was home and safe, she had finally permitted herself to grieve for all that had happened, in the past and in the dungeons of Zedd's palace. 

Once Aura was done with her telling and her weeping, Azure told her again about the clone's short sojourn there. "When she healed me, it was like. . .well. . ever since then, it's been like there's a part of you inside of me. I feel closer to you, in a way. I don't know if that's the right way to say it or not, but that's how it feels." 

Aura nodded; she understood what her sister meant. She took a deep breath and stood up. _At last it's over._

As they joined their respective husbands in the living room, Aura felt her heart lightening. The war with Rita and Zedd was ended with. They no longer had to live in fear of battles everyday. But the Power Rangers still stood guard over their world, and once again, the Amber Ranger stood with them. 

_I am the chosen Ranger of the Earth. I am the Amber Ranger. I am Aura Lynn Robinson Cranston. I am Alaina Alantrius. But most of all, more than anything else. . .I am home._

**The End**


	24. New Amber

**New Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

Rita and Zedd entered the fueling station, both still fuming over their recent defeat by the Power Rangers. It hadn't really been the Rangers, but one of their own clones, who had turned against them. Zedd had hardly spoken since they left Earth, preferring to fume in silence. 

The station's restaurant was populated by various scum from all over the galaxy. Rita saw a couple of Cogs from the Machine Empire in a corner, arguing in monotonous tones over who was going to pay for the oil they'd consumed, and just to one side were three of General Havoc's Chromites, watching as their master casually tormented a cobra for fun. 

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Rita and Zedd!" the voice was low, chilling, and almost exotic. It came from a tall, well-built humanoid, with short-cropped dark hair and cold green eyes. 

"Of course it's us," Rita snapped. "What do you want, Galan?" 

Galan chuckled softly as he glanced from one of them to the other. Noticing Zedd's bad mood, he asked, "What's eating him?" 

"A clone we made of one of our enemies turned on us," Rita sighed in disgust. Galan shook his head. 

"Another one of Finster's creations? He never has been good at clones, has he?" 

Rita growled, "He's not good at anything!" If Finster wasn't so slavishly loyal, she would have fired him eons ago. Loyalty like his was hard to come by, though. 

"Blasted Amber Ranger," Zedd mumbled to himself. There was something going on inside his head, something he was trying to remember, something that teased his mind, just out of the corner of awareness. _Something to do with Aura. The Amber Ranger. What is it?_

"Did you just say. . .Amber Ranger?" Galan's voice, already low, went even lower. Galan had another name by which he went: the Amber Ranger Hunter. 

Rita groaned; she hated even the mention of the Amber Ranger! "Yes, he did! The latest one's a real pain, too!" 

"How did the Amber Rangers survive?" Galan asked. "I thought Kalakan was destroyed!" 

"The Spirit of Earth accepted the new one's oath," Zedd spat the words out. Galan ground his teeth in fury; he had dedicated his very existence to stamping out the Alanatrius line. Zedd considered it a mere hobby; to Galan, it was the reason he lived. 

"Damn," he muttered. "This time I will destroy the Amber Ranger! Where did you say the newest one is?" 

"Earth," Zedd told him. "Feel free, go ahead, make a fool of yourself!" it was obvious Zedd was still in a bad mood, and the fact he seemed to have a blank spot in his memory made it even worse. 

"I have destroyed plenty of Amber Rangers in my time!" Galan reminded him. Indeed, he alone had killed more than twenty of the chosen warriors, and he knew their strengths and weakness like none other in the universe. "More than can be said about you! All you did was kill Neras: by shooting him in the back!" It was a point of honor with Galan that all the Amber Rangers he had killed had been in face to face combat. 

"At least he's dead," Zedd retorted. As he spoke the words, the strange blank spot faded, and he remembered. _Aura! It was her! All those years ago on Kalakan, that was her: the current Amber Ranger, who I spent the most delicious month of my life torturing! The Spirit of Earth must have sent her back in time! I remember her now! Why couldn't I before? _He laughed suddenly, remembering how passionate she had been under his love potion's sway. _Until she remembered that blasted Billy!_ He was surprised to discover he still cared for her, and smiled to himself. _I swore once to have her, and I will. But in good time. I want to plan this one, carefully. Oh, so very carefully. But Galan could be a problem. Ah, I know how to deal with him._

"What is it?" the Amber Ranger Hunter asked. Zedd covered it quickly, giving one of his best evil grins. 

"Nothing, just a good memory!" Galan looked at him, frowning. 

"Rita, your husband has gone insane!" he observed. Rita glared equally at the two men. 

"You noticed," she said dryly. Zedd chuckled a little more, time to set things in motion. 

"If you want to go after the Amber Ranger, be my guest!" he snarled. _I only wish I could be there to see her grind you into powder!_

"I will," Galan stood up. "And as I have those before this one, I will destroy the Amber Ranger!" 

Rita snorted in contempt; while Zedd merely said. "Let us know if you do!" _So I can destroy you personally if you actually DO defeat her!_

"I will," Galan promised. "By the way, I have a new chief warrior." 

Zedd raised what would have been an eyebrow if he still had them. "Really?" 

"Who was stup. . .lucky enough to get the job?" Rita wondered. Galan was one of the few servants of evil she actually respected, though she would never admit it out loud. 

"A former employee of yours," he told them. "Scorpina." 

Rita laughed; Scorpina had left the Lunar Palace shortly after Zedd's arrival, returning only briefly for one special mission for him. The evil sorceress had always wondered what had happened to her after that. "Talk about losers!" 

"She's a better fighter than Goldar," Galan stated flatly. Zedd and Rita weren't going to argue much there, of course. Goldar had lost too many fights for them to say anything! 

"True," Zedd agreed. "Goldar kept being beaten by the latest Amber Ranger!" _And that's been going on longer than you could imagine!_

"He could be beaten by a guppy!" Galan declared. Rita agreed, then Galan started for the door. "We shall see who is victorious. Now I must take my leave of you. My traveling companion and I are off to Earth!" 

"Good luck," Zedd wished him. "And good riddance!" 

"You haven't changed," Galan chuckled. "Not since you lost your skin!" 

"At least I still have my brain, unlike some people I know!" Zedd reminded him. Galan glanced back just before he left. 

"Stop insulting your brother-in-law." 

As the waitress came to take their order, Zedd found himself in the best mood he'd been in for over fifty thousand years. He would return to Earth, to claim what and who he'd wanted for so very long. But only when he deemed the time was right. Only when he was ready. 

And when Aura wasn't.   
  


* * *

  


Scorpina was practicing her battle maneuvers against some of Galan's lizard-like Zalic warriors when her master entered the training rink. At his gesture, the Zalics fell back, and he came over to her. "Scorpina, how would you like to go back to Earth?" 

"What for?" she asked, banishing her stinger-like sword. She'd enjoyed herself since coming to work for him; the Zalics were actually worthy fighters, unlike Zedd and Rita's Tengas. 

"An old nemesis of mine has resurfaced, after some fifty thousand years. I want the line stopped," he growled. It was the greatest of insults to him that the Amber Ranger had returned. 

"Who?" 

"The Amber Ranger," he told her. "I will destroy them this time! Completely!" 

Scorpina remembered a message she'd received from Goldar a few months earlier, about the latest Power Ranger on Earth. "When do we leave?" 

"When the ship is refueled and refitted," Galan told her. "And I have a very special surprise in mind for this Amber Ranger." 

"Oh?" she smiled. "A nasty surprise, I hope?" 

"The very nastiest," he chuckled. "This will destroy the line of the Amber Rangers forever!" 

Scorpina laughed. "Excellent!" 

Galan turned away, returning to his quarters. He smiled to himself. _The Amber Ranger will die. In the most hideous of agonies._   
  


* * *

  


**A year later, Earth**

Aura lay on her stomach in the park, her feet up in the air, looking for all the world as if she were twelve instead of twenty. A short distance away, Adam and Billy were sparring. They were expecting Azure to join them in a few minutes, once she'd gotten back from the post office. 

"It's nice to have a day to ourselves," she said, smiling. "I love the twins, but they are a handful!" 

Billy and Adam finished their sparring match and sat next to Aura as Azure came running up. "Hey, guys!" she said as she kissed Adam. Aura chuckled to herself. 

"They still act like newlyweds," she grinned as she wrapped an arm around Billy. "But then again, so do we!" 

Azure smiled at her sister as she sat next to Adam. "This is a perfect day." 

The older girl agreed. "The most perfect day we've had in a long time!" 

_Ever since I got back and Rita and Zedd left, we've had nothing but peace. Peace. What a wonderful word. _Aura couldn't help but take a deep, cleansing breath. Things had finally started to go smoothly in their lives. Azure cleared her throat and held up a letter suddenly. 

"I got the part!" she announced. They all sat up, Azure had been auditioning for a musical to be held in the Angel Grove Theater in a few months. She hadn't really expected to get it, even though Aura and Adam had both encouraged her to try for it. 

Aura laughed and smiled. "Great!" 

"Really?" Adam looked every bit as happy as Azure was as he hugged her intensely. Azure smiled. "Which means, I'm going to be spending a lot of time at rehearsals." 

Adam frowned a little. "Less time with me?" he pouted, smiling a trifle to let Azure know he was teasing. 

"Adam, you knew this when I auditioned for the part!" 

"I know," he giggled. "I was just teasing you!" Azure leaned over and kissed him as Aura sighed dramatically. 

"Those two. .. they're almost as sickeningly in love as we are!" she laughed as Billy held her tightly against his strong chest. 

"Sometimes, they're worse!" he told her. Aura leaned against him, a smile on her lips. 

"Nothing can spoil this perfect moment," she sighed happily. "Nothing at all." 

"Rrrangerrrssss," the hissing voice startled Aura, Adam, and Billy all to their feet. They looked around to see a dozen lizard-like creatures not far away, hissing and spitting at them. 

"What are those?" Aura was at once on the alert, ready to morph and fight at a moment's notice. Some part of her mind realized Azure was there, therefore Azure was in danger. "Azure, get out of here, now!" 

Azure rolled her eyes and hit her communicator, teleporting to the Command Center. Adam frowned a little, muttering to himself, "What was that all about?" 

"Dunno, but those things look like trouble," Aura kept a careful eye on the creatures. "That's why I wanted her out of here!!" 

"Time to die!" one of the creatures hissed. Aura looked at them; they looked like nothing she'd ever seen before in her life! 

"What are you things?" she wondered. Billy was also examining them with his usual careful eye. 

"They look like humanoid lizards," he observed. Adam had a horrible thought. 

"You don't think Zedd is back, do you?" he wondered aloud. Aura managed to conceal her horror at that question. 

"Who knows," she shrugged. "Let's kick some lizard!" 

One of the things lurched closer towards them. "Rrrrangerrrrsss musssst die! Amberrrr Rrrrangerrrrr musssst be dessstrrrroyed!" 

Aura's eyes widened. "Did. . .did he say what I think he said?" 

Adam had heard it too, and confirmed it, while Billy swore viscously. Aura was very annoyed, to say the least! "What is it with evil aliens and wanting to get rid of me?" 

"Think we should call in the others?" Adam wondered. Aura shook her head. 

"Let's see how good these things are first!" Adam nodded and the three of them headed into the fight, hoping they wouldn't have to call on their powers for it. That assumption was wrong, however, when the lizard-creatures defeated them: soundly. Aura managed to get to her feet. "I think we need to call the others.. . or morph," was her comment. 

Billy nodded, as he was thrown into a tree. "How about both?" Aura nodded. "Sounds good to me!" she morphed a moment later, as Adam called for the rest of the team, then he and Billy both morphed. For instincts and a good many skills not used in nearly a year, all three of them were in good shape. 

"Thanks for getting Azure out here," Adam told Aura as they prepared for the second round of battle. 

"Hey, she's my sister, it's my job!" the Amber Ranger smiled to herself. She'd just been glad Azure had taken her advice and left. What happened next startled all three of them, however. The lizard-things were staring at Aura! Not at the others: just at her. 

"Herrrrr? Sssshe'ssss the Amberrrr Rrrangerrrr?" one of them stared in what could only be described as awe. 

"What, you didn't know?" Aura stared back, in confusion on her part. The creature shook it's head. 

"So it's not Zedd," Adam wasn't sure to be relieved or not by this. "Who is it?" 

Aura growled, "Whoever it is, they're gonna find out this Amber Ranger is more than they can handle!" 

A moment later, the rest of the team showed up, already morphed and ready for action. "Azure's got the kids at the Command Center," Rocky reported. Aura nodded. 

"Thanks, Rocky. These guys are after me and frankly, I'm sick of it!" 

The Red Ranger grinned under his helmet. "Then let's smash them!" No one bothered one of his friends! 

Aura cracked her knuckles loudly. "Let's do it!" _No one interrupts my peace and gets away with it! _

The battle that ensued after that was long, drawn-out, and painful to both sides, but in the end, the Power Rangers had won: barely. The lizard-things vanished, with one of them hissing a promise to return to Aura, whose only reply was, "Promises, promises."   
  


* * *

  


As the Zalic warriors reappeared on Galan's ship, he raised an eyebrow in question. "Well?" he seriously doubted they'd destroyed the Amber Ranger; those of that blood were simply too well trained for that. 

"Maaaasssteeer," the Zalic leader hissed. "We met the Ammmmmbeerrr Rannnngeerrrr." 

Galan resisted the impulse to snarl at them; that was what he'd sent them for! "Well?" he repeated. His Zalics were smarter than Putties or Tengas; but they still had their limits. 

"Sheeee fights well," he reported. Scorpina chuckled; she remembered what Goldar had told her in his letters. 

"I could have told you that!" the scorpion-warrior couldn't help but be amused at these creatures. Galan looked at her, frowning. 

"Why didn't you tell me the current Amber Ranger is a woman?" 

Scorpina's eyes widened a trifle. "I thought you knew!" 

"Well, I didn't," Galan's jaw tightened; Rita and Zedd hadn't informed him of that fact. 

"Does it matter?" Scorpina hoped he didn't have something against killing females. Her hope was fulfilled when he shook his head. 

"No, it's just very rare that the Amber Ranger is female," he told her. In thirty-five generations, only ten of them had been female. They had been just as worthy opponents as their male counterparts had been, indeed some had been even better. He relished those kills. 

"She can die, just like any other Amber Ranger!" Scorpina wanted confirmation on his determination to kill the latest Amber Ranger. 

"Yes, she can," Galan nodded sharply. "How long til we reach Rita and Zedd's former palace?" 

Scorpina glanced over the ship's instruments. "An hour." 

Her master started out of the bridge. "Let me know when we get there. I'll be in my quarters; I must prepare for the Amber Ranger's destruction!" _It has taken me a year, but at last the spell that will be this Amber Ranger's downfall is ready! Male or female, young or old, she will perish! And the Alantrius line will end forever!_   
  


* * *

  


When the Rangers teleported into the Command Center, Azure was still there, with Alexander in her arms and a worried expression on her face. As Aura demorphed, it was plain to see she was not in the slightest of good moods. "That was not fun! Not the least little bit of fun! What I want to know is, why do these bad guys always want to kill me?" 

That was not fun! I've had fun ... that was not it! 

"Zordon, what were those things?" Adam asked as the rest of the team demorphed. He went over to Azure, putting an arm around her. He knew of all of them, she was the one who would be taking this the absolute worst. She'd never liked the danger they'd been in due to their position as Rangers, but had dealt with it. This new threat, after almost a full year of peace, was going to be hard on her. 

THEY ARE ZALICS, Zordon told them. THE PERSONAL WARRIORS OF GALAN THE HUNTER. 

Billy frowned. "Why would this Galan guy want Aura dead?" 

HE HAS KILLED TEN AMBER RANGERS IN HIS TIME. HE HATES THE AMBER RANGER LINE, AND WILL DO WHATEVER HE HAS TO IN ORDER TO DESTROY IT. 

Azure was staring at Aura, mouth closed and eyes troubled. Aura glanced over at her. "Azure, is everything all right?" 

"Yeah, I'm just a little worried about you," she said softly. Zordon had told her of Galan while they'd waited for the Rangers to return, and she had a sixth sense this guy was going to be serious trouble for her sister. 

"Hey, if I can survive Billy's cooking, I can survive anything!" a smile teased at the corners of Aura's mouth. Billy protested, only to have Aura remind him, "Billy, when you cooked breakfast last week, it got up and ran out the door!" _That should teach him not to do his experiments in the kitchen, too! _As Billy blushed in embarrassment, Aura smiled, enjoying his discomfort. "Didn't think I'd tell anyone that, did you?!" 

That was a definite tension-breaker as everyone chuckled over Billy's kitchen ineptitude. Azure glanced at her watch suddenly. "Man, I've got to get going! I have a meeting with the producer!" she handed Alexander to his father, then teleported out a moment later. As she did so, Aura looked up at Zordon. 

"Zordon, this guy, Galan, what does he have against my family?" 

MANY THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO, WHEN GALAN WAS JUST A TEENAGER, HIS FATHER DAREK ATTACKED KALAKAN. A BLACKSMITH FROM ONE VILLAGE FOUGHT BRAVELY AND WELL AGAINST HIM, AND IN RETURN FOR HIS SERVICE, THE SPIRIT OF KALAKAN OFFERED TO LANDROS ALANATRIUS THE POWERS OF THE FIRST AMBER RANGER. HE BECAME YOUR ANCESTOR, AURA, AND IN HIS FIRST BATTLE AGAINST DAREK AS THE AMBER RANGER, LANDROS KILLED HIM. GALAN WAS VERY CLOSE TO HIS FATHER, AND TOOK IT UPON HIMSELF TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE WOULD BE NO MORE AMBER RANGERS. 

Aura looked at her son, held in Billy's arms. _No more Amber Rangers. If he lays a hand on my son, he'll taste my Ax just as harshly as his father did! _"This isn't good," was all she said out loud, though. 

UNTIL GALAN IS DEALT WITH, WE WILL KEEP A TIGHT SENSOR LOCK ON BOTH YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN. 

"Thanks, Zordon," Aura nodded. "This guy sounds like trouble." 

Billy looked down at the cheery face of Alexander in his arms. "I don't think I could stand losing my son, or my wife," he said, looking from Alex to Aura. "Again," he whispered, remembering with utter clarity that hideous time when Aura had been Zedd's captive. She came over to him and laid a gentle kiss on his cheek. 

"I'm not going anywhere, Billy, and neither are the children," she reassured him. _Never again. _

"I know," Billy smiled at her, and returned her kiss. _I love her so much. Galan, whoever, whatever, wherever you are, you can't take her away from me. You won't. By all that's holy, I swear that!_   
  


* * *

  


Rocky, Kat, and Aura took the twins to the park after Zordon dismissed them from the Command Center; nothing could be done until Galan made another move. Billy was working with Alpha at the Command Center, setting up the sensor locks on Aura and the twins, and had told them he'd join them once they were properly fixed up. 

Aura leaned against a tree, watching Rocky give Alexander a piggy back ride up and down the park. She closed her eyes, hoping that when she opened them, it would all be a bad dream, and no one would be trying to kill her or her children. Kat sighed; noticing Aura was upset. The two of them had grown close over the past year, almost as close as Aura and Azure were. 

"Kat, did you ever have the feeling people wanted to kill you constantly?" 

The Australian girl nodded. "Just Rita and Zedd, though. Mostly Rita." Aura knew all the stories of the Power Rangers; Billy had told her everything that had happened before she joined the team. 

"Not a good feeling, is it?" Aura mused. She already knew the answer to that, even before Kat shook her head to agree. It was never a good feeling to know people wanted you dead. 

"Rrrrranngerrrsss," a hissing voice declared. Aura, Kat, and Rocky all looked up to see a small clump of Zalics, Scorpina, and a man none of them recognized standing on a small hill not too far away. 

"Oh, not these things again!" Aura sighed; a year of peace, now two attacks within an hour of each other! 

"These are them?" the man asked, raising an eyebrow as he directed the question towards the Zalics. One of them nodded and Scorpina raised her scorpion-stinger, pointing at Aura. "That's the Amber Ranger, my lord Galan!" 

Aura's eyes flashed with anger. "Oh, great, point me out to the guy that wants to kill me!" 

Galan let out a small chuckle. "This should be easy," he looked to see just which one of them Scorpina was pointing at. . .and stared. His eyes widened, his jaw literally dropped. 

_Oh, no. This is not happening to me again. It was bad enough with Zedd in Kalakan's past; I can't take this again! If this is some sort of cosmic joke, I don't find it very funny! _Aura hit her communicator, she knew they were going to need help on this, and she wanted Billy very near her if this Galan had on his mind what he seemed to. "Guys, trouble in the park!" 

"We're on our way!" Adam's voice responded, then a moment later, all the other Rangers were there. "Fast enough?" the Black Ranger asked, a small smile on his lips. 

Aura couldn't help but giggle and nod in response. She noticed Galan was still staring at her, that same expression in his eyes, and it annoyed her. 

"Would you stop staring at me!" she snapped, more upset by his staring now than by the fact he wanted to kill her! Someone seeking her death she could handle, there was nothing to that. But this. . .if it was what she wanted it not to be, that was going to cause some serious problems. 

Galan looked over at Scorpina. "It's your call," he told her. She was his chief servant; he wanted to see how she reacted in something like this. Adam noticed who stood next to him and rolled his eyes in disgust. 

"Great," he still remembered the first, last, and only time he'd ever met Scorpina, and he did not like her in the slightest. 

Scorpina hadn't missed the way Galan had stared at Aura and roared her orders to the Zalics. "Kill them!" 

"It's morphin' time!" Tommy ordered, and the battle was joined. Galan and Scorpina watched from the hill, and Galan's eyes never left Aura for a second. Even as the Rangers pushed the Zalics back up the hill and sent them running, he watched her. 

"Next time, Rangers," he smiled at Aura, an expression filled not with the desire to kill: but the desire to possess. A moment later, he and his troops had vanished. Aura shivered, heart pounding. 

"Oh, man. Please don't let him be thinking what I think he is!" she moaned. Billy demorphed and nodded. 

"He'd better not be!" 

As Aura demorphed, she leaned against Billy, shaking a little. "What is it about me that makes them all like that?" she wanted to know. She had the sudden sinking suspicion this was going to be a lot worse than what Zedd had been like: a lot worse. 

Billy put this arm around her and smiled a quirky little smile. "You have to ask me that?" _I'm in love with her, the most wonderful woman in the cosmos, and she has to ask me that?_

Aura smiled and kissed him gently. "I guess not."   
  


* * *

  


Galan and Scorpina entered what had been Zedd and Rita's palace. Galan glanced around the throne room and shook his head in disgust. "What a dump!" he declared. There was dust and decay everywhere; it was absolutely disgusting. 

"He liked it like this," Scorpina shrugged. She didn't care much what the place looked like; her goals were simple: destroy the Rangers. Galan snapped his fingers and the entire place was redecorated in what was known on Earth as the "Renaissance style". 

"Much better," he nodded approvingly as he took his place on the now much more comfortable throne. Scorpina shrugged again. 

"I like it," it was best to be agreeable with her master. "So, how shall we destroy the Amber Ranger, sire?" 

"By destroying her friends," Galan was somewhat reluctant as he said that. When he'd seen the Amber Ranger, it had stirred up something in him he'd never thought he could feel. He had believed for thousands of years that his capacity to love had died when his father did. "I don't know," he sighed a little. 

"Sire?" Scorpina frowned; she didn't like the way this was going in the slightest! "Is something wrong?" 

Galan glanced down at the Earth. "I am not sure, Scorpina. But I think I'm falling for the Amber Ranger." 

"What?" Scorpina did not believe her ears! Galan stared at her evilly. 

"You heard me!" 

"Bu-but I thought you hated her entire family! An hour ago, you were plotting to kill her!" 

Galan nodded. "I know, I can't figure it out!" 

"Sire, her ancestor killed your father, remember?" Scorpina tried to get his mind back on the real reason they'd come to Earth in the first place, the only reason they'd come to Earth. 

"I know," Galan nodded. "That is why I'm so confused. Part of me wants her as my bride, the other wants her dead!" _I've never felt like this before. This is so strange. Could my love be my enemy? My enemy my love?_

"I just want her dead," Scorpina muttered. She had never told Galan, she would never tell him, but she found him quite attractive. This attraction of his to the Amber Ranger threatened not only her just beginning campaign to get him to fall in love with her, but their entire purpose for coming to this hideous world of Earth! She watched as Galan set up the crystal he used for watching Earth, then tried again. "She wouldn't hesitate to kill you, sire." 

Galan watched as a pair of Zalics brought in a box, then opened it once they'd put it down. From within he pulled out a walking stick carved from a crooked tree and leaned it against the wall where he could see it. "I do miss you, Father," he said softly. He looked over at Scorpina and nodded. "I know." 

"So just kill her and you won't have to worry about it anymore," Scorpina preferred the simple methods to deal with problems. Galan turned towards his crystal and tuned it into the Rangers, watching as they continued their outing in the park. 

"Maybe we should destroy the Rangers," he mused. "That would make her easier to destroy," _I must keep my mind on business; it's not love, just a reaction to her beauty. Lust is so much easier to deal with. _"She'd be an emotional mess then." 

"Yes, sire," Scorpina nodded. "Which one first?" 

Galan watched as the Amber Ranger, Aura, kissed one of the other Rangers. There was real love in the way they looked at each other. "Him," his voice was thick with jealousy. 

Scorpina nodded. "The Blue Ranger shall fall first, then." And that will be a pure pleasure. 

"That he shall," Galan nodded agreement. "Attack him when he is alone, apart from the others, and do not fail to destroy him!" 

"I will not fail you, sire!" 

"You had better not," he warned her. "If you do: you will regret it." 

The words were mild, but the look in his eyes promised far worse punishments than anything Zedd or Rita had ever threatened anyone with. Scorpina felt, for the first time in her long life, true fear.   
  


* * *

  


Two nervous days passed, with all the Rangers keeping an eye out for Galan, Scorpina, or anything that even resembled a Zalic. Neither Aura nor the twins were left alone for a second; not wanting to risk whatever Galan might have in mind. 

During one walk in the park, Aura glanced over at her sister, who was yawning rather hugely. "What's wrong, honey?" Adam asked, also noticing how tired she was. "Is it just the rehearsals?" Azure was hard at work learning the songs and practicing for the show. She nodded and smiled a little to reassure her family, not wanting them to worry about her. 

Aura sighed a little. "I hope we don't ever hear from Galan again," the way he'd been looking at her had haunted her thoughts for the past two days. Azure nodded as she leaned against Adam. 

"You're not the only one," she murmured. Adam encircled her with one arm and kissed her lightly on the top of the head. 

"I love you, Azure," he whispered. "You know that, don't you?" 

Azure smiled and nodded, then kissed him in her own turn. Despite the peacefulness of the park, Aura and Billy couldn't get their minds away from Galan. This was the first time in their almost two years of marriage anyone had even looked at either of them that way. Aura shivered in memory yet again. 

"I did not like the way he was looking at me, not in the slightest," she said half-aloud, half to herself. Billy nodded. 

"I just want to wring his neck if he looks at you like that, or in any way ever again!" 

Aura leaned against him, smiling. "My overprotective husband," she chuckled a little. She glanced at her watch suddenly. "I've got to get back to the house! It's time for the twins' dinner! If I let Rocky feed them, he'll stuff them til they burst!" 

"I'll be there soon!" Billy promised. Aura waved and ran off down to their house, secure in the knowledge of the Command Center's permanent lock on her and her children. 

Billy watched her go, smiling. All cheer vanished, however, when Scorpina and a troop of Zalics appeared just a few feet away from them. "Hello, Rangers!" she waved a mocking salute to Adam as she did so. Adam swore, then turned to Azure quickly. 

"Get to the Command Center," he told her; not even really having to. Old instincts died hard, and she was out of there a moment later. Adam turned his attention back to the fighting; knowing his wife was safe improved his battle prowess dramatically. "It's morphin' time!" he declared. Seconds later, the full team stood there, teleporting in from all over Angel Grove. It was obvious Aura was not in a good mood over this, either. 

"If my kids go hungry because of you, Scorpina, you're going to pay!" she snapped. No one interrupted her kids' feeding time! 

"I wouldn't be so worried about those brats! It's him you should be concerned for!" Scorpina launched her attack on Billy directly. After two days of no luck finding him alone, Galan had simply told her to take the first available opportunity to get him out of the way. 

The Rangers were doing all within their power to fight off the Zalics, but it was obvious Billy was getting the brunt of the battle. Five Zalics and Scorpina had him surrounded, and were doing all they could to beat him into the ground. Adam raced over there, kicking Zalics to both sides as he came to his friend's rescue. "I don't think so," he snarled, helping Billy to his feet. 

"Thanks for the help, Adam," Billy nodded as he called out for his Power Lance and started to seriously battle with Scorpina, along with Adam's help. 

"No problem," the Black Ranger assured him. "No problem at all!" 

Scorpina was shoved back, along with the Zalics, and as Aura headed over to join her husband and friend, murder evident in the way she held her Ax, Scorpina showed uncommonly good sense and teleported away, taking the lizard warriors with her. As the Rangers demorphed, Aura looked at Billy with fear in her eyes. 

"She went after you, personally," the Amber Ranger said softly. She didn't like people who made attempts on her husband's life. 

"I know," Billy knew Aura's temper better than anyone in the world. "But she didn't get me." 

Aura draped an arm around him, smiling. "Come on, you're going to help me feed the twins. I don't think either of us should let the other one out of their sight," she kissed him on the tip of his nose. "Then again, I love looking at you anyway!"   
  


* * *

  


Scorpina returned to Galan's palace, fuming at the defeat she'd been handed yet again by the Power Rangers. This was getting absolutely embarrassing! She was the greatest warrior in the universe, she couldn't possibly be losing to a batch of humans, could she? 

Galan didn't even noticed her return. He was staring into his crystal ball, a distant look in his eyes. Scorpina came over to him, half-growling. "Sire, we lost again!" Galan made a noncommittal noise, it was plain he was paying no attention to her. "Sire?" 

"I love her," Galan whispered. Scorpina literally felt her cold heart plummet. 

"What?" she hoped she'd heard wrong. She just couldn't have heard that; it wasn't possible! 

"I love her," Galan had watched Aura for two straight days, and he hadn't come to this lightly. He had despised the Amber Ranger line for over fifty thousand years, and now, after so long, his heart had been captured by the latest, and most beautiful, member. Scorpina screamed in denial, this simply wasn't happening! Galan nodded, not quite as reluctantly as he had before. 

"How? Why?" 

He leaned back against his throne, his mind filled with images of the dark-haired warrior he had come to destroy: and now found he couldn't. "I am not sure. But I love her, and she will be my wife!" 

"But she's married!" Scorpina didn't much care for the bonds of matrimony herself, but that might at least draw him off the trail. Galan sat up sharply. 

"She's what?" 

"She. . .she's married," Scorpina told him. "To the Blue Ranger!" 

Her master frowned. "It seems there is more to this than what Rita and Zedd told me." 

Scorpina jumped on this; there had to be some way to kill this strange infatuation! "They've even got two kids!" 

Galan raised an eyebrow. "So they have another one in training. Hmmmmm. . . this is too perfect. Get her away from her husband, with her firstborn, and all will be perfect!" _Perhaps destruction wouldn't be nearly as much fun as. . .corruption._

"What do you have planned, sire?" Scorpina asked, refusing to let jealousy enter her voice. He wouldn't know how she felt, no matter what. 

"I want her as my bride," Galan said determinedly. "One way or another, I will have her." 

Scorpina sighed; at least if she supported him, he might notice her again later. And perhaps. . . "Perhaps if I simply go and kidnap her, sire?" 

Galan nodded. "Do so. First her, then her child," he commanded, turning back to the crystal to watch Aura. He found a strange pleasure in watching her do the smallest of things. 

Scorpina smiled to herself. _With her here, she'll be easier for me to destroy. Once she's out of the way, I can EASILY draw Galan into my arms! Look out, Amber Ranger. . .death is coming for you!_   
  


* * *

  


The twins were finally fed and put to bed before Aura and Billy had the chance to talk again. He smiled as he looked lovingly at his wife. "This sure has been a bizarre time for us, hasn't it?" he asked gently. Aura nodded as she stretched. 

"We are definitely not the average couple!" she giggled. _Let's see, I'm from Kalakan, Billy's from Earth, and the twins have blood of both. We're both Power Rangers, and Alex is going to be one when he grows up! Yeah, that qualifies as "unusual"! _

Billy smiled as he stroked her midnight mass of hair. "That we're not. Then again," he chuckled lightly. "No couple with even one of them would be normal," his eyes flicked towards the twins' bedroom. Aura was about to say something when Billy's lips caressed her neck, and all thoughts of speech vanished from her mind. 

"Hello, Rangers!" Scorpina's voice shattered the romance of the moment. Aura pulled away from Billy, anger coursing through her veins at the interruption. 

"Don't you know when you're not wanted?" she snapped. _How DARE she interfere with my private time with Billy! _

"No way," Scorpina laughed; catching them like this was an unexpected and quite intriguing bonus. She grabbed Aura by the shoulder harshly. "You're coming with me!" 

Aura had a quick and dirty reaction to that little piece of news. "Let go of me!" she slammed Scorpina in the stomach with every ounce of strength she had. The scorpion warrioress stepped back, then pulled out her stinger sword. She was ready and willing to do battle to the death right there. 

"Billy, protect the twins," Aura snapped. "I can handle her!" 

Billy nodded and headed for the twins' room. He knew Aura's battle capabilities, and trusted her to handle herself well. His only advice before he left was, "Be careful of her stinger!" 

Aura glared at her enemy; this was getting personal! "All right, Scorpina, you messed with Billy at the park. You were going to kill him. No one. . . but no one ... hurts my husband!" A second later, she had morphed. The Amber Ranger and Scorpina circled each other warily; both respected the other's combat ability, and neither was going to jump into something without being prepared. 

Scorpina, however, wasn't above cheating, and she wasn't all that interested in a fair fight, despite her readiness for it. She lashed out with a bolt of energy from her blade, and caught Aura squarely in the chest with it. Normally Aura would have been able to deflect it with her Ax, but her reflexes were slowed the merest trifle by a year of peace. She reeled, her head spinning with disorientation. She barely noticed as Scorpina grabbed her harshly. 

"We go!" the evil golden warrior crowed triumphantly. She glanced over as Billy teleported in, and screamed his wife's name. Scorpina laughed hideously, then vanished with Aura held tightly in her grip. 

"NO!" Billy screamed. "NO! Aura!"   
  


* * *

  


Billy was holding Alexander as the other Rangers and Azure entered, pacing up and down the Command Center. Adam asked quietly, "What is it?" 

"Scorpina. . .Scorpina came down and took Aura," Billy whispered. They could all tell he was close to tears as he spoke. 

Azure muttered, "Damn," under her breath as Billy broke into tears. After a full year, a year of peace, someone had stolen his wife from him again, and who knew what Galan would have in mind? 

"Why can't they just leave us alone?" he whispered brokenly. Azure made her way over to him and put a comforting arm around her brother-in-law. 

"I wish I knew," she told him. "I wish I knew."" 

Billy looked up at Zordon. "We have to get her back. Zordon, what would Galan do to her?" 

I AM UNCERTAIN, BILLY. GALAN HAS ALWAYS BEEN SPORADIC. HE COULD DO ANTHING. 

Billy leaned against a console, shivering. "I saw how he looked at her before." _Almost with love, with passion at least. With desire. _

Azure sighed deeply. "Let's just hope she's okay," she hoped. She knew Aura's inner strength was incredible; it had to be, to have survived everything that had happened to her. Tommy nodded. 

"Aura's been through a lot, she can handle this guy," he reminded Billy, and Adam agreed with him. Billy sighed and looked over at them both. 

"But we've all been out of practice for a year," Billy reminded him. Tommy nodded. 

"But some things are inborn. Aura comes from a very long line of warriors. I have faith in her." 

Azure nodded. "So do I," all the other Rangers agreed; of them all, Aura had suffered the most the past nearly three years. It had given her a strength beyond any of theirs. 

"Cheer up, Billy," Tommy tried to help him. "She's been worse. We all have. It'll be okay." 

Billy sighed as he started to search for Aura yet again. "I wish I could cheer up," he murmured. _But how can I when my wife is with the enemy of her entire family? How can I when Galan has Aura?_   
  


* * *

  


Scorpina appeared back in the palace, and casually dumped Aura on the floor as she did so. "I got her, sire!" 

Galan smiled at Scorpina, then glanced at Aura, still in her Amber Ranger uniform. _Oh, that will never do. _"Good. Now to stunt her morphing ability." 

Scorpina raised an eyebrow; she'd never heard of this before! "How?" she noticed Aura was beginning to regain her senses and hoped she wouldn't have to knock her out again. She had the feeling Galan wouldn't like that much. 

"Like this," Galan pulled out his sword and pointed it at the slowly reviving Aura. This was the spell he'd planned for a year, that he'd saved his magical energy and strength for. A few harsh words later, and Aura, no longer the Amber Ranger, lay on the floor. Scorpina smiled; this could be useful! 

Aura's eyes flashed open as her costume faded away. She was on her feet a second later. "What's going on here?" she looked around; this place looked roughly familiar. If it had been darker and more forbidding, she would have thought it was Rita and Zedd's palace. 

"Welcome to my palace," Galan came closer to her. "Well, I took it over from Rita and Zedd, since they abandoned it." 

_It is their place. I must admit, it looks better. Then again, anything would have been an improvement. _"I've been here before, I didn't like it then, and I hate it now!" she grabbed for her communicator. "I'm going home!" her heart sank completely to her knees as she realized the teleportation wasn't working. 

"What is it?" Galan's smile was full of two things: evil and desire. He was almost knocked over by the force of her bellow. 

"Let me out of here! And stop looking at me like that!" 

Galan shook his head. "I'm sorry," Actually I'm not. "But you are staying forever!" 

Aura raced at him, intending on choking him into letting her go, but he tripped her up, moving almost as fast as she had been. She looked up at him, heart thudding with fear. "Why are you doing this?" 

"I love you," he told her. "True, at first, I wanted you dead, but when I saw you, I fell in love." 

_I think I'm going to be sick. _"I don't love you! I love Billy, and I'm getting out of here!" _Maybe if I morph, I can teleport; at least to the Heart of Earth. I don't have to use my communicator to do that._

Galan couldn't help but laugh as she scrambled to her feet and tried to morph: and failed. "You see, my dear, I put a block on your morphing abilities. You can't even get in touch with the Spirit of whatever." 

_No! He's lying, he has to be! He can't do that! _Aura closed her eyes, reaching out to where the Spirit had always been, that warm and loving place within her heart. There was nothing there; it was worse than before she'd bonded to the Spirit of Earth, that had been an emptiness once the Spirit of Kalakan was gone. This. . .this was nothingness, as if it had never been. She went absolutely white as she collapsed to the floor. "No. . .no. . .," she whispered. This was a living nightmare. 

"Oh, but yes," Galan laughed. "Zalics! Take her to her quarters and guard her!" 

The lizard warriors dragged Aura down the corridors to the room Galan had set aside for her. The young woman was in such shock over the loss of her powers, she didn't so much as lift a finger to protest. Scorpina chuckled softly. 

"That was easier than I thought it would be!" 

"Too easy," Galan had recognized the look of utter devastation in Aura's eyes; he had seen it before, in other Amber Rangers. She would belong to him. 

"Now what, sire?" Scorpina wondered. Galan looked towards Earth again. 

"The child," he nodded sharply. _Once they're both here, I can begin it's corruption, and that in turn will turn Aura's heart towards me._

"They keep the brats in the Command Center, sire, and I can't get in there!" 

Galan shrugged. "They can't stay there forever. Which is the oldest, the boy or the girl?" 

"The boy," Scorpina reported. Galan nodded to himself and to her. 

"Now we come up with a way to get them," he murmured. He glanced down the hallway where Aura had vanished in the company of the Zalics. _Now she is mine._   
  


* * *

  


The Rangers were involved in an activity that was all too familiar to them all: scanning for one of their own. Billy glanced over to Adam and quietly asked, "Any luck?" Adam shook his head and Billy sighed. "Where is he keeping her?" 

"I wish I knew," Adam shifted the scans to the moon, just on the off chance Galan had settled there. Billy glanced over at the twins, playing with some of Alpha's spare parts in a corner. 

"I'd better take the twins home. They need some sleep," he was heading over to them when Adam's triumphant shout cracked the air, waking up the half-dozing Azure. 

"I found her!" 

"What?" Billy turned around, eyes dancing with joy. 

Adam continued, "I found her! She's in Rita and Zedd's palace!" Adam was just as confused as the others by the location. 

"What in the world is she doing there?" 

GALAN MAY HAVE CHOSEN TO SETTLE THERE FOR NOW, Zordon suggested. Adam nodded, and flipped a few more switches. 

"I'm bringing it up on the Viewing Globe now," he told them. Everyone gathered around to look, and absolute astonishment filled the Command Center at what they saw. 

"That can't be the same place!" Tommy stared; the throne room was no longer the dark, shadow filled place it had been, instead it was light, airy, and actually looked pleasant. It was obvious that while being just as evil as they were, Galan didn't share their decorating taste. 

Billy ran to the computers and started doing deeper level scans, muttering, "Where's Aura?" under his breath as he did so. Adam joined him at the consoles, adding what information he already had. 

"Somewhere in there," he told the Blue Ranger. "I can't get a precise lock on her. He's got that place locked up tighter than Rita and Zedd ever did." 

"We've got to get her out of there," Billy put everything he had into getting a lock on Aura; he absolutely would not leave her in Galan's clutches! He could not, he would not think of what the Amber Ranger Hunter was doing to her, if he did, he wouldn't be able to help her. He shoved the way Galan had looked at his wife out of his mind; remembering that only made him too angry to focus on his work. He had to get Aura free. He'd done it once; he could and would do it again. 

Adam glanced over at Billy, who hadn't had any rest in almost a full twenty-four hours. Azure was even worse off; she was barely conscious as she struggled to her feet. Those rehearsals were taking a lot out of her. "You two need rest," he told them. "Alpha and I will work on this; we'll contact you when we find a way to get her out of there." 

Billy paused and looked at his friends. _I've got to find her. But if I don't rest, I could miss something that would free her. I won't fail her like that. _"You'd better," was all he said out loud as he went to pick up the twins. He and Azure teleported out together, both heading for their respective homes. Adam sighed as he went back to the computers, Tommy coming over to help him. They both knew time was running out.   
  


* * *

  


Billy quietly put Alaina down for bed next to her brother, and smiled a little as he watched his sleeping children. "Sleep well, kids. Mommy will be home soon." 

In only a few minutes he was sound asleep in his own bed. His hand clutched spasmodically at Aura's side of the bed a few times, but other than that, he slept like one dead. 

He didn't even notice when Scorpina appeared quietly in the twins' room. She reached out greedily for Alexander, only to hiss in fury when both of them vanished into sparkles of white light, and Adam arrived, already morphed. 

"What? Now you're into kidnapping defenseless children?" he snapped. He was glad he'd thought to check the lock on the twins and Billy before starting another series of scans for Aura. 

"This is none of your concern, Black Ranger!" 

Adam nodded. "Oh, but it is. They are my niece and nephew." 

"So?" Scorpina had her sword in her hands. "My master wants that boy!" 

Adam fell into a fighting stance. "Well, you're not going to get him . . . ever!" 

Billy stumbled into the room, awakened by the noise. "Where are the twins?" he asked, staring as he saw Scorpina standing there. She launched at attack at Adam just as Billy entered. 

"They're at the Command Center," Adam replied. Scorpina snarled at them when she heard this. 

"You can't protect them forever!" 

Adam laughed. "Want to bet?" 

Scorpina grinned. "What my master wants, he gets," she favored Billy with a hideous glare. "He wanted your wife, and he has her!" _No matter how much I wish she were dead!_

"Not for much longer!" Billy promised. Scorpina stopped suddenly, and laughed. 

"It's been nice fighting, but I've got to go!" she grinned nastily. "My master has a wedding to prepare for!" 

Billy tensed up as Scorpina vanished. Adam put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. "You go back to bed. I'm going back to the Command Center; I'll have her home in no time!"   
  


* * *

  


"You called me back, sire? Why?" Scorpina asked as she appeared back in Galan's palace. He was quite disappointed in her, she could tell. 

"You failed," Galan told her. "I sent you to get the twins, not to fight the Rangers!" 

"Zordon must have been watching out for them!" she snarled out a few choice insults to the Power Rangers' mentor, until Galan stopped her. 

"That can wait," he told her. "Now, for my bride to be!" he chuckled a little at the thought of what would soon be happening. 

"Has she even moved since she was taken to her room?" 

Galan shook his head. "Not an inch." _I'm worried about her; she's so still._

Scorpina shrugged. "Not that it really matters." _It'll be that much easier for me to get rid of her when I'm ready to._

Galan frowned. "What do you have against her?" 

_What do I have against her? Since the moment you saw her you haven't even LOOKED at me except to give me some order that has to deal with some way to get HER!! _"She's a Ranger!" 

"Not right now," Galan smiled. "She can't even morph!" 

"When is the. . .wedding?" she pronounced the last word with extreme distaste, which Galan seemed either not to notice or not to care about. 

"Soon. . .very soon," he chuckled to himself as he said it. "I'm going to go pay a call on her now. Occupy yourself somehow." 

Galan went to Aura's room, unlocking the door with a touch of his finger and entered to see Aura sitting on the bed. "Do you like your room?" 

"Leave me alone," she whispered, her voice shaking. Ever since she'd been thrown most unceremoniously into this room, she'd been doing her best to get in touch with the Spirit of Earth, to no avail. She had never felt so alone or so powerless in her entire life. 

"Why don't you change and join me for dinner?" he offered. Aura glared at him; he'd kidnapped her, deprived her somehow of her powers, who knew what else he was trying to do or was planning to do and he was inviting her to dinner? 

"Go to hell," was her only reply. Galan scowled fiercely. 

"You must eat," he told her sternly. "Either you come willingly or I will use force." 

Aura shook her head. "I will never do what you want! I want to go home!" 

He frowned. He had hoped he wouldn't have to do this, but she was being difficult. He cast a spell that enabled him to control her body, though not her mind. "You will come with me!" 

Aura found herself on her feet, though she hadn't wanted to stand. "Huh? What's going on?" 

Galan smiled at her. "I now control your movements; since you wouldn't come willingly, I told you I would make you." 

_No. This isn't happening. If he can control my body. ..he. ..he could. . . _Galan beckoned her to follow him and she did helplessly. He paused for a moment suddenly. "I think first, you should be dressed for the occasion." 

He snapped his fingers and a glorious black gown appeared over one arm. Another gesture brought a screen into existence, and he threw the dress at her. "Change into that, behind the screen," he ordered. Helpless to disobey, she did, but she could and did call him every name she could think of as she did so. 

"It won't help," he told her as she came back into view. He caught his breath at her remarkable beauty and nodded to himself; she was truly fit to be his queen. "You will do as I say. Now, come along!" 

Aura found herself weeping, as memories of the month of torment she'd spent in this place came back. Now, just like then, she was helpless to stop her captor from doing anything he wanted to do to her. And what Galan wanted was far too terrible to think over. He came over to her and with surprising tenderness wiped away her tear. 

"Do not cry," he told her gently. "I'll never hurt you. You're safe here." 

Somehow, Aura didn't believe a word of it.   
  


* * *

  


Rocky was holding Alexander as everyone watched Billy and Adam work. Billy had refused to sleep, coming to the Command Center to join once more in the search for his wife. "Any luck, Adam?" the Red Ranger asked. Adam glanced over the results, and smiled. 

"I think I've got it!" Billy glanced over at him, glad he'd taken the time to teach Adam how to deal with the Command Center computers. He was taking to them very well, just as well as Billy himself had. "We can get her out of there!" 

"What are we waiting for?" Billy asked, coming over to the console. He scanned quickly, and found they'd be able to teleport her out; apparently Galan hadn't thought of them removing her from his grip. The Blue Ranger smiled; that was going to cost him! 

"I got a lock on her," Adam smiled. "Teleporting now."   
  


* * *

  


"Enjoying your meal?" Galan asked as they dined. He'd had to command Aura to eat and drink; she would have sat there like a stone if he didn't. It was going to be rather amusing to get her to fall in love with him, and with his controlling spell on her, he could have a great deal of fun with her before then. He was eagerly anticipating the 'dessert' he'd planned for after dinner. 

"I'd enjoy it more if I wasn't here!" Aura snapped at him. He considered ordering her to speak only civilly to him, but decided that would take too much effort. 

"You will enjoy your life here more and more each day," he promised her. She glared at him, and he chuckled at her hate-filled eyes. 

"No, I won't! I can't enjoy anything if I'm not with the man I love!" 

He laughed. "But you will love me. If not today, then one day." _Perhaps sooner than you think, my dear one!_

Aura snapped back, "Never!" No sooner had the word left her mouth, she shimmered and vanished. Galan stared. 

"NO!" he rose from his chair and glared at the empty seat Aura had occupied only moments before. "How dare they! This will be avenged! I will have her back!"   
  


* * *

  


"She's coming," Adam reported a moment later. Just at that second, Aura appeared on the Command Center floor. Billy's jaw dropped as he saw the gown she was wearing; quite different from the jeans and shirt she'd had on when Scorpina had kidnapped her. He went over to help her up, noticing a strange distance in her eyes. Adam cleared his throat. 

"Aura, I hate to ask, but where did you get that dress?" 

"Galan," she whispered. The Rangers all looked at each other; there had been something in her voice they had never heard before: total despair. Billy held her close to him. 

"You're home, you're safe," he whispered. Alpha shuffled over to them. 

"Billy, may I make sure she's all right?" the robot asked. Aura shook her head. 

"I'm not all right," she told him. "I already know that," she was shaking in Billy's arms. "He put two spells on me." 

Billy's eyes widened. "What?" 

"I can't morph," she told them, as tears fell faster and faster. "And. . .and. . . I. . ." 

Alpha scanned her quickly and fed the results into the computer. "I can remove the control spell," he reported a few minutes later. "That requires a simple potion I can mix up right here in the Command Center. But the blocking is going to take some time to remove." 

"Do it, please, Alpha," Billy told him. _Before he somehow makes her do something to hurt herself or one of us. I won't let him do that._

"I can't even feel the Spirit of Earth anymore," Aura told them. There was a horror evident that none of them could really understand. "I feel so alone. . ." 

Billy held her as Alpha handed her the potion that destroyed Galan's controlling spell on her. "We're here for you. If not in person, then in spirit." 

Aura looked at him. "Billy," she said through her tears. "I've only been alone like this once. Even before I knew what I was. The Spirit of Kalakan was a part of me, then, but before the Spirit of Earth took over, there was that six month gap. I nearly died then. I was so alone: and I thought I never would be again. . .until now!" 

Billy held her as she cried herself into his shoulder, more hurt and broken by this than anything Rita and Zedd had ever done to her. "We'll find a way to break that block!" 

Alpha told them, "I don't know if I can. Galan's magic is very powerful, and he's used this spell before. It takes a lot of magical energy to perform, and if we can break it, then he won't be able to cast it again, at least not for at least a year. It takes that long to build up the power to do it again." 

"We'll do everything we can," Billy assured his wife. "Let's get you home." 

Aura nodded. "I need to get out of this thing!" she stared down at the dress; she wanted nothing more than to be in normal clothes again. 

"Okay," Billy helped her to her feet. A gentle voice stopped their travel plans, though. 

"Aura?" who turned to see the Spirit of Earth standing behind her. Aura's tear-filled eyes widened to see the Spirit there. She threw herself into her arms, her tears exploding as they never had before. 

"I can't feel you anymore! We're not linked! I'm not the Amber Ranger!" _I can't keep up my oath. . .can't do anything. . ._

The Spirit held her just as warmly as Billy had. "You will be again soon," she promised. "I will make sure of it." 

"I feel so alone. .. I am alone!" Aura whispered. "I hate this. Why did he do this to me?" 

"I wish I could tell you," the Spirit lifted Aura's head and looked deep into her eyes. "But I will do everything in my power to unblock this." 

"Please," Aura begged. "I can't live like this!" _An Amber Ranger was never meant to be alone! We were born to be part of our worlds!_

"You must," the Spirit told her. "For you own sake and the sake of your children." 

Aura sighed, slowly forcing herself to rebuild the courage that enabled her to survive all she had. "I don't really have a choice, do I?" 

"Go home and sleep," the ethereal one advised. "We are still one, my child, and nothing Galan does can change that. I love you, Aura." 

"If you want, I'll watch the twins," Rocky suggested. Aura nodded. 

"Please do," she said. "And thank you." 

"No problem, I love watching them!" he smiled as he went over to start playing with them. Billy picked Aura up in his arms and smiled at her. 

"Let's go," he said, kissing her on the lips. A moment later, he teleported out, just as the Spirit faded away, returning to the Heart of Earth. Tommy sighed as the Rangers were left alone in the Command Center. He knew what it was like to be torn away from your powers. 

"I hope we can find a way to break that block," he said softly. Adam nodded, his face drawn and pale. 

"So do I," he agreed. The Rangers looked quietly at each other. Things had just taken a definite turn for the worst. 

**The End**


	25. Threatened Amber

**Threatened Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

Galan, the Amber Ranger Hunter, watched his prey from his lunar palace. He licked his lips in desire and thought as Aura, the beautiful Amber Ranger he wanted so badly, spoke with some girl she was frequently with. The girl looked exhausted, as if she'd slept little recently, and Aura seemed very concerned over her. 

"So she worries about this girl," he mused. His second-in-command, Scorpina, nodded. 

"She's worried about her constantly, since she became aware of her powers." 

The Hunter nodded to himself. "This could work to our advantage." 

Scorpina raised an eyebrow. "What do you have in mind, sire?" 

"We kidnap Aura's husband," Galan paused, that word felt nasty to say if he did not mean it as himself, "and this girl, and then we 'promise' her the return not only of her powers, but of these two if she comes willingly to me." 

Scorpina shook her head. "Zedd did something similar once, she did surrender, but he double-crossed her, and tortured her for a month. I don't think she'll fall so easily for that again," _assuming she learns from her mistakes, that is._

Galan smiled. "She'll have no choice. Not if they are put in serious danger." 

"You're not actually going to undo your spell are you? She's not going to get her powers back, is she?" 

"Of course not!" Galan laughed. "She's too dangerous with them!" 

Scorpina muttered to herself, "Good. Maybe I can kill her while she's here." 

Galan continued to stare at the woman he had chosen for his mate and the girl with her. "Now to wait until this girl is alone." _I will have you, Aura. No matter what it takes._   
  


* * *

  


Aura waved to her sister as she headed out the door to Billy's waiting car. The Rangers hadn't let her be alone for more than two seconds at a time since she'd been rescued from Galan's palace. As she got into the car, Azure closed the door and leaned against Adam. 

"You're worried about her, aren't you?" he asked as he put an arm around her. Azure yawned lightly. 

"Yeah. . .blame me?" 

Adam shook his head. "Not really. We all are," the Rangers had noticed a definite change in Aura from the moment she'd returned from Galan's. It wasn't just the loss of her powers, it was a fear none of them had ever seen in her before. She was afraid of Galan, far more afraid of him than she'd been of Zedd or Rita. _I don't blame her, either. Imagine a person who's only reason for existing is to destroy you and your family: and that same person decides they want to marry you: whether you want to or not._

Azure sighed a little. "Maybe we should turn in?" 

Adam nodded; it was getting late. "Maybe we can come up with some answers," it certainly couldn't hurt. 

As they headed for the bedroom, the phone rang, and Azure groaned. "If that's my producer, I'm comatosed!" 

Adam grinned as he headed for the phone. "I'll get it," he promised her. Azure sighed, she was so completely worn out. The rehearsals were taking a lot out of her. She almost literally collapsed into bed, falling asleep a second later. 

"This is too easy!" Scorpina declared as she appeared next to the near-comatosed young woman. Azure's only response was to turn over in her sleep. Scorpina picked her up just as Adam walked into the room. 

"It was your. . .let her go!" he screamed. As they vanished Adam fell to his knees, crying. "NO! Azure!"   
  


* * *

  


"It feels weird," Tommy said as he and Billy sparred. "To look at her and know that there's part of her missing." 

Billy nodded. "Aura isn't taking it well at all, either." 

Tommy agreed. "I don't blame her. I didn't when something similar happened to me." 

Billy shivered. "I can't imagine going through that," he whispered. "To be blocked off from a part of-----" 

Whatever Billy was going to say was lost as the Zalics, Galan's lizard-warriors, appeared. "Dessssstrrrroyyyyy!" one of them proclaimed. Billy groaned as they started to trash everything, sending the patrons running in every direction possible. 

"Oh, man. Why here. Why now?" 

It only took a few seconds before the Youth Center was deserted of everyone except Billy, Tommy, and the Zalics. Tommy looked at his teammate. "Let's kick their butts!" 

Billy nodded. "Let's do it!" he was about to morph when several Zalics surrounded and grabbed him before he could do anything to stop them. "Hey! Let go of me!!" 

"Noooooo," one hissed as it tied a rope around him. Tommy started over towards them, kicking Zalics this way and that. 

"Tommy, warn the others! Tell Aura!" Billy shouted just as he and the lizard-warriors vanished. Tommy swore and hit his communicator; the others had to be warned. Galan was up to something.   
  


* * *

  


Aura slid Alaina into the playpen; it was standard procedure to bring the twins to the Command Center along with her. They weren't going to let anything happen to them. She caught a glimpse of the amber pendent, which had turned black and twisted at the moment of Galan's spell. _I'll get my powers back, and shove Galan straight into a black hole if that's what it takes to get rid of him!_

"What's going on?" she asked, turning to the others. Adam was the only one who hadn't shown up yet; Tommy had called them all together. As he explained, Aura's fists clenched in rage. Adam teleported in just moments after Tommy finished the explanation, looking both angry and worried. 

"Galan got Azure," was all he said. Aura felt the red rage of anger well up within her as Adam explained what had happened. Aura couldn't believe her ears; her sister and her husband were prisoners of her worst enemy! 

"I'm going to tear him into very tiny shreds!" she declared, wishing she could morph at that moment and destroy the entire Lunar Palace. 

"Not if I get my hands on him first!" Adam snarled. He was every bit as angry as she was, if not more so. 

"I'll let you help," she promised. This was more than personal: this was family. Alpha glanced over the computers briefly, then told them, "Incoming transmission." 

As one, they turned to the Viewing Globe, to see Galan smiling far too sweetly for any of their tastes. "Hello, Aura," the Amber Ranger Hunter grinned. 

"I want Billy and Azure back now!" Aura declared. She was absolutely livid, to say the least. Galan chuckled. 

"My, you do have a nasty temper. You can have them back, on one condition." 

Aura's only response was, "Drop dead." 

Galan frowned. "You didn't even hear my condition! But before I tell you, would you like to see them?" 

"I want them back!" Aura hissed through clenched teeth. She'd had more than enough of people bothering her family in their attempts to get at her. 

"I'll take that as a yes," Galan stood aside, showing them two figures chained up against a wall. Azure was just beginning to lift her head as they came into focus. 

"Billy. . . Azure," Aura whispered, eyes widening at the sight of the Zalics looking ready to do some serious damage to the captive pair. Aura heard Adam whisper her sister's name next other, knew how tired she'd been from the rehearsals. "Don't you dare hurt them!" 

"Then come to me, willingly," Galan chuckled soft and low. He would have his bride, he knew. He knew how sentimental every Amber Ranger was over those they were related to. 

Aura shook her head. "No. We'll find a way to get them out of there; I won't ever come to you willingly!" 

Galan drew his sword. "So be it," with a dramatic flourish, he pointed it at Billy's communicator, which flew off the Blue Ranger's wrist and formed into a monster. "In one hour, it attacks Angel Grove. But first, it has a little fun with these two!" the Viewing Globe went dark. 

"No!" Adam hissed. "That bastard!" 

"No," Aura whispered. "This can't be happening!" 

Adam was trying to locate them already, forcing himself past his fear. "We have less than an hour to get them back," he whispered the next to himself, but Aura's keen hearing picked it up. "I don't know how long Azure can defend herself in her condition." 

Aura laid a hand on her brother-in-law's shoulder. "We'll find them, Adam. No matter what."   
  


* * *

  


"This will be too easy," Galan laughed as he stared evilly at Billy and Azure. Billy stared back at him, refusing to show even a moment of fear. 

"Let us go, Galan, Aura will never come to you willingly!" Billy hissed at him. Galan smiled. 

"That is where you are wrong. I meant it when I told her that my ComMonster here is going to have fun," He gestured towards Azure. "Maybe I should let him have her first!" 

Billy did his best to kick at Galan, to no avail. "Leave her alone!" 

The Hunter frowned. "Why? What importance is she to you?" _I knew Aura cared about her, but why would this fool do so?_

"She's my friend and sister-in-law!" Billy told the evil warrior. Galan raised an eyebrow in surprise. 

"So Aura has a sister. This is better than I expected. ComMonster, come here." 

The creature made from Billy's communicator shambled over. "Yeah, boss?" 

"She is your first target. When I give the word, have fun!" Galan ordered, pointing directly at Azure, who seemed to be in shocked. 

"Okay," the creature turned an evil glance to the near-comatose young woman. "It'll be fun!" 

"No!" Billy protested, pulling at his chains with all his might. He couldn't, he wouldn't let anything happen to Azure, she was too tired and had been through enough since she and Aura had returned to Angel Grove. 

"Billy?" she whispered as she began to wake up. "What's going on?" 

"Don't you dare touch her!" Billy declared. "I'll kill you!" _Is this how Aura feels? So protective, so caring? So determined not to let anything happen to Azure? It must be. . . _

"I'd like to see you try!" Galan laughed as he gestured to his lizard fighters. "Zalics, prepare her for battle!" 

As the Zalics unchained Azure and pulled her out to the middle of the room, ComMonster looked happily at Galan. "Do I get to beat her up now, boss?" 

"Yes," Galan nodded. "Right in front of her brother-in-law," he spoke that last word with a large amount of distaste. _None should touch Aura but me! _

ComMonster cracked his knuckles evilly. "This is gonna be fun!" 

Azure stared at the creature, then prepared herself. She'd spent a lot of time training over the past year, and she was ready. 

She hoped.   
  


* * *

  


The Viewing Globe crackled to life again, and this time there were no smart remarks by Galan to any of them. As they watched, it focused on Azure as she squared off against ComMonster. Aura and Adam stood in the forefront, eyes wide and fists clenched in almost mirror image of each other. 

"I'm going to pay great attention to detail when I tear him into pieces," Aura growled. Adam's attention was totally taken up with Azure. 

"Come on, Azure, remember what I taught you!" he urged. Aura nodded. 

"Give him a piece of your mind, girl, and of your fists!" Aura nodded, paling even as she cheered for her sister. Azure was knocked down, and huddled there for a second. "Azure," she whispered. They all had to laugh when Azure lashed out with a harsh kick to the monster's most sensitive regions. "She learned that from me!" Aura declared. It was her favorite area to strike a male opponent in. 

"Remind me to stay on her good side then!" Adam smiled as Azure leaped to her feet and launched a series of punches and kicks to her opponent's midsection and chest. The fight continued, but they could all see Azure was weakening. Finally ComMonster flattened her with one well-placed hit to her stomach. Galan blocked their view of Azure then. 

"Now come to me, or never see your sister again!" the globe went blank yet again as Adam swore vilely at the Amber Ranger Hunter. 

"This isn't happening," Aura whispered as she leaned against a console. "This just isn't happening." 

"She. . .I. .. .Azure," Adam groaned as he broke down into tears. Aura stared up at Zordon, tears in her own eyes. 

"How can he do this?" 

GALAN IS A MAN WITH LITTLE EMOTIONS. ONCE HE SETS HIS SIGHTS ON SOMETHING, HE GOES FOR IT, NO MATTER WHO GETS HURT IN THE PROCESS. 

Aura went over to Adam, and put a hand on his shoulder, causing him to look up at her. "We'll get them back. And Galan will pay for it." 

As their eyes met, Aura stepped back, revolted by the raw hatred and sorrow in his eyes. "This is all your fault," Adam hissed to her. "This wouldn't have happened if you weren't around. Azure would be safe back at our apartment! First Rita and Zedd were always after you, now this bozo!" 

Aura stepped back even farther, almost ready to cry from the emotion in his dark eyes. The other Rangers stared, not sure how to take this. Adam had never reacted quite like this before, but then again, Azure had never been in the grip of a killer like Galan before either. Tommy tried to reason with him. 

"Adam, man, it's not Aura's fault!" 

"Adam, calm down, please," Kat joined her pleas to Tommy's. Adam turned to them both. 

"It's not her fault? Would Galan even be here if it wasn't for her?" he pointed to Aura, who stared at them, eyes wide and lip trembling with emotion. 

"He. . .he's right," she whispered. A moment later she'd teleported out of the Command Center. Tommy rounded on the Black Ranger. 

"Good going! What is with you!" 

"How could you, Adam?" Aisha wondered. Adam stared back at them, then teleported away himself. The Rangers looked at each other; what was going to happen next?"   
  


* * *

  


Galan watched as the Zalics chained Azure back to the wall. She had passed out from the exertion; ComMonster had barely had time to do anything to her. "Now Aura will have no choice!" 

"I'm going to get you for this!" Billy declared. Galan cast a casual glance over him and laughed. 

"How? You can't morph in this place!" Galan had researched ways to nullify Power Ranger powers for centuries; this room had a spell on it that prevented any Ranger from morphing while in it's confines. Even if Aura had possessed her powers still, being in here would nullify them, and the spell would last beyond his own death, until the very palace around them collapsed. That was how strong of a spell it was. 

"Somehow!" Billy declared. Galan laughed again; this was quite amusing! 

"I must take my leave of you," Galan told them both as Azure began to revive. "I have to see someone about a marriage!" 

"Azure?" Billy turned to her quietly. She looked up at him through swollen eyes. 

"What happened?" she mumbled. As Billy told her, she winced in remembrance. "No wonder I feel like I was hit by a bus." 

"He just doesn't give up!" Billy sighed deeply. 

"Why is he doing this?" Azure wondered. "Why can't these bad guys just leave us alone?" 

Billy shrugged. "I don't know. I hope the others can figure a way to get us out of here!" 

_So do I. Aura, be strong, don't give in to him. No matter what, be strong, my sister! _Azure hoped that somehow, Aura could hear her. She could only hope. . .   
  


* * *

  


Aura leaned gently against her favorite tree in the park. Here Billy had asked her to marry him, here they had been married. She shoved away the one bad memory of the place, where Eric, Rito, and the Tengas had kidnapped her when she was pregnant with the twins. This place held more good than bad for her, and now she came to it to think her way through things. 

_Adam was right. So much has happened to Azure just because of her being related to me. Galan would never have come to Earth if I wasn't here. This is my fault. Which means it's my responsibility to take care of it. No matter what that means._

"Ah, my lovely, what is your answer?" the hated voice of Galan interrupted her thoughts. It took all of her self-control not to lash out physically at him in that moment. He'd taken the three things that meant anything to her: her husband, her sister, and her powers. She hated him more than she could say. 

"I. . .I don't know," she couldn't, she wouldn't just give in to him. There had to be another way, somehow. 

His slimy voice continued. "Do you wish your powers back? Or your sister?" 

_Azure. _"My sister. . . if. . .if I say yes, can I help the other Rangers fight your monster first?" ComMonster had begun it's attack on Angel Grove shortly after she'd come to the tree. 

"If you say yes, I will call back the monster, and free your sister and your current husband," the implications of 'current' left no doubts, if she'd ever had any, of what he had planned for her. 

"And if I say no?" 

His matter-of-fact voice chilled her to the bone. "The two of them die. And the Rangers try to defeat the monster with two less Rangers." 

"I can't let that happen," she decided in that moment. It hurt every inch of her soul to do it, but her love for those she cared for wouldn't permit her to do anything less. 

"Then you will join me?" 

Aura couldn't bring herself to say the words out loud. There was simply no way she could say it. She nodded helplessly and let him take her hand. "You will not regret this. But first, I will give you some time with my two prisoners." 

"You said you were going to free them, and call back your monster," Aura told him, hating the feel of her hand in his, but not daring to draw it back. 

"I am," Galan smiled a little. "But first you can spend some time with them. That is all I meant." 

"All right," she whispered. _I can only hope I have the courage to do this to their faces. Especially Billy's. _A moment later, she and Galan were in the Lunar Palace, in the prison cell Billy and Azure were in. They had already been unchained, and were looking at each other in shock. "Billy. . .Azure. . ." she ran over to them, drinking in the sight of those she loved. 

"Aura?" Azure looked at her, hugging her a moment later. Aura fought back the tears in her eyes, which almost burst free when Billy asked, 

"What are you doing here?" 

"It was the only way to get you two out of here. You're needed, Billy. I couldn't let either of you be killed." 

"You're more important to the Rangers than I am. You shouldn't have agreed," Azure protested. Aura shook her head, refusing to let herself cry. 

"You are my sister, that's more important to me than anything!" Aura reminded her. She looked over at Billy, hardly able to face him now. "You will always have my heart and my love, Billy, no matter what." 

"You still shouldn't have come," Azure wasn't giving up her protest. Aura sighed a little. 

"Tell Adam I'm sorry," Aura told her sister. _Sorry for coming into your lives and destroying so much that could've been good without me. Maybe now things will leave you alone._

"I'm not leaving without you," Billy insisted. Azure ignored him, looking at Aura with fury in her eyes. 

"Sorry?" 

"He'll explain it when you get back. . . 

"You're both going to explain it!" Azure exploded. Aura stepped closed to Billy and kissed him with all her heart. 

"I will always love you," she told him. Billy returned the kiss, until the moment Galan shoved him away rudely. 

"That's enough. You two are free, she's staying here. She agreed to that," he waved his sword at the both of them, teleporting them to Earth. He didn't care about ruling the world, defeating the Rangers, or any of that. All he wanted was the dark-haired warrior next to him. 

"You promised me something else," she said harshly. Galan snapped his fingers, and ComMonster appeared, called back from the battlefield. 

"There," he smiled at her, hoping she was pleased now. He certainly was. 

"And?" Aura glared at him. _I'm at least getting my powers back if nothing else!_

"That is for after the marriage," Galan told her, smiling evilly at her. Aura trembled a little at that smile; she knew what she was in for that night. 

"You don't intend to give them back at all, do you?" she hadn't spent years fighting villains without learning how they thought in some ways. 

"That is for you to find out, after we are married, and have consummated it!" he laughed as he stared at her, a dark and foul light in his eyes. Aura wasn't taking it quite the way he thought she would, though. 

"If you don't," she seized him by the throat with all her strength. "I'll be a widow." _And will go back to the man I really love._

He pushed her away and smiled. "We shall see." 

"Indeed we will," Aura glared at him nastily. She wondered briefly if she'd made the right choice coming here.   
  


* * *

  


As Azure and Billy appeared in the Command Center, Tommy's eyes went wide. "Hey, how'd you escape?" 

"Aura," Azure whispered, a little disoriented from the sudden travel. Tommy stared at them; he hoped Aura hadn't done what he thought that meant. 

"What?" he asked, just managing not to squeak in fear. 

"Aura," Billy sounded royally annoyed. "She turned herself over to Galan for our freedom." 

Azure glanced around, looking for her husband. "Where's Adam?" 

"He's kind of upset. He teleported out somewhere," Kat told her. Azure's jaw tightened. 

"Could someone please tell me what Aura meant when she said to tell him she's sorry?" 

The Rangers all looked at each other until Rocky admitted, "Adam said some things that weren't very nice and I think Aura believed him." 

"Like what?" Azure growled. When Aisha explained what had happened, Azure exploded with fury. Tommy tried to soothe her. 

"Whoa, Azure, calm down! He was upset at the time, very upset!" 

Azure glared at him. "I think I have a right to be upset too! I just found out that it's my husband's fault that my sister turned herself in. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find him and give him a piece of my mind!" 

Not one of the Rangers dared stop her as she teleported away. 

  
  


* * *

  


Adam sighed as he stared at the picture of himself and Azure on their wedding day. He couldn't believe that she'd been taken prisoner again. That he might never see her again. Who knew what Galan was capable of? Who knew what he'd do to Billy. . .to Azure? _Oh, Azure. . . _

The sound of their bedroom door slamming open startled him, but who he saw when he looked up startled him even more! "Azure?" he stared in disbelief. "Azure, you're back!" 

Her cold glare froze him in his tracks. "You are in so much trouble right now it's not even funny!" 

He frowned. "Azure? What's wrong?" 

"How dare you say those things to Aura?" she snapped. 

He winced a little, then retorted. "Azure, it's true!" 

Azure kept one eye on him as she headed for the closet. Adam gulped as she opened the door and started pulling things out of it. "Azure, what are you doing?" 

"Take a lucky guess," Azure hissed. "Until the other Rangers can get my sister back, and you can work things out with Aura, I don't even want to be in the same apartment with you!" 

"Azure, no!" Adam's eyes flew wide open. Then it hit him what she'd said. "Wait, get her back?" 

"Because of your stupidity Aura turned herself in to Galan!" she screamed at him. Adam stepped back, shocked by what she'd said and the fact she'd yelled at him. 

"No, she didn't,' Adam couldn't believe it. "I was mad, but I never meant. . .I never wanted her to do that!" _I can't believe she did that! But after what I said. . ._

"She did," Azure said flatly as she finished her packing and grabbed her car keys. Adam followed her quickly. 

"Azure, please, don't go!" he urged. He couldn't believe this was even happening! Azure stopped and turned to stare at him. 

"Just remember whose fault this is," she said coldly. Adam whispered her name, heartbreak in his voice as he begged for her to stay. "Why should I? You were the one who said those things: those things that led my sister, the one person I trust the most in my life to go to Galan! I'm sorry, Adam, I need time." 

She headed out the door as Adam sank against the wall, crying his heart out. _I can't believe this. She's free of Galan, only to leave me! This is all my fault! I should have never said what I did to Aura! We could've found some way to rescue her and Billy, some way for me. . .to keep my wife._   
  


* * *

  


"I hope you will be more co-operative this time," Galan watched Aura hungrily as she stared up at the Earth through the balcony in the palace. She glanced over at him. 

"I don't have a whole lot of choices, do I?" she growled. He found he liked that tone in her voice. He was happy just to have her here, willingly in his palace and soon, in his arms forever. 

"No." 

"I want you to know something," she fixed him with those delicious gray eyes of hers. "You might have me, but you will never have my heart. That belongs forever to Billy: deal with it!" 

Galan grinned evilly at her. "Oh, I can live with that." _She will change her mind after a few years. _

"You're going to have to," she reminded him. "It's all you'll ever have," she turned to walk away, not able to stay near him a moment longer. Galan grabbed her by one shoulder and whirled her around to look at him. "Let go of me, or deal with a broken arm," she promised him. She was sickened a moment later when he pulled her closer to him and kissed her. She pushed herself away, wiping the feel of his lips on hers away. _Oh, I think I'm going to be sick!_ She saw Galan's perverted smile, and her fists clenched. He knew how much she hated him; he'd enjoyed doing that to her! _Well, I'm going to enjoy this!_ Aura delivered one of the most perfect karate kicks she'd ever done to Galan's stomach. She smiled herself as Galan doubled over in pain. _Oh, that felt GOOD!_

Aura lost her smile as she got out of Galan's sight. She sighed a little, wondering if she'd ever see her family again. She hated Galan, hated everything he stood for, and knew she'd never be able to live with what they were going to be doing that night. She paused to look up at the Earth again, and felt tears pulse down her cheeks at the sight of the world she loved so much, and had sworn to protect. 

"Billy. . .I miss you," she whispered. _I will love you forever, my Billy, my Blue Ranger, my heart and soul. For love of you I returned to Earth, for love of you I was able to take up my powers again. For love of you I survived Zedd's dungeon and was able to come back to you._

"Pity you're never going back. . .or anywhere else ever again!" Scorpina stepped out of the shadows, her stinger raised and ready. Aura whirled, her heart pounding suddenly. 

"What do you mean?" 

"You stole the man I love from me," Scorpina paced closer to her. "Now you die!" 

"What?" Aura couldn't believe what she was hearing. 

"You are going to die," Scorpina repeated. 

"I heard that part! What I meant was, stealing the man you love?" Aura was really hoping this didn't mean what it could mean. 

"He loves you now," Scorpina hissed. "You took him." 

Aura dodged away from Scorpina and asked what she feared. "Ummm . . . you are not going to tell me you like Billy?" 

"I could never love a weakling human!" Scorpina declared. "I don't know how you can!" That was one thing she'd respected in Aura; she wasn't human. 

"He's not weak," Aura snarled. "And I might not be able to morph, but neither am I!" she jumped at Scorpina, avoiding the stinger adeptly. She'd never fought the warrior woman hand to hand, and had no idea of just how strong she really was. Back and forth they rolled, until Scorpina had Aura pinned down. She lashed out with her stinger, delicately scraping Aura's arms. 

"Scorpina!" Galan shouted suddenly as Scorpina leaped away from the Amber Ranger. "Get away from her!" 

Scorpina backed away, doing her best to look innocent. "I didn't do anything to her!" 

"You didn't?" Galan marched over to Aura, who was trying to get to her feet. "What do you call this?" he pointed to the scratches on Aura's arms from the stinger. 

"An accident!" Scorpina declared. _What he doesn't know won't hurt him. . .but will kill her!_

"We shall discuss this later," Galan told her. "Now, I must tend to her wounds," he quickly cleaned and wrapped up Aura's arms. The fight had taken more out of Aura than she was willing to admit; she'd felt weak ever since Galan had blocked her connection to the Spirit of the Earth. Galan looked at her when he was done. "How are you feeling?" 

"I'd feel better if you'd stop looking at me and let me go home!" she growled. She refused to feel the slightest bit of anything except hate for him, no matter what. 

"Aura," Galan stared at her for a moment. "Go and rest, you need it after that attack on you," Aura took herself to the room he'd set aside for her without another word. Galan sighed a little; winning her heart was going to be harder than he thought. Then again, he already had her body. That was a start.   
  


* * *

  


The Rangers were doing everything they could to locate and rescue Aura; Billy had absolutely no intentions of letting her stay there. Zordon would normally have never agreed to them take Aura, since she had given her word to Galan, had it not been Galan. Their mentor told him that the Amber Ranger Hunter was notoriously untrustworthy; he would betray his word to her somehow. They didn't dare let her stay there; it would mean her life, and they all knew it. 

In the middle of their searching, Adam teleported in. He looked sorrowfully at Billy, then said, "Guys, I'm sorry about losing it earlier." 

Tommy sighed. "You were upset." 

Adam looked even more upset than he had before. "I still shouldn't have said it." 

Aisha frowned; she knew something was wrong with him. "Adam, what's wrong? Where's Azure?" 

Adam leaned against a console, not looking at any of them. How could he look at them? "I don't know." 

Kat went over to him, forcing him to look at her. "Adam? What happened?" 

"She left me. And I can't blame her either!" 

"What?" came from every corner of the room. 

"She left me," Adam's voice was thick with tears. He was ready to collapse; but he had to fix right what he'd done. 

"Why?" Billy asked from where he was searching for Aura." 

"Cause it's my fault her sister is with Galan!" Adam reminded them all. Billy turned to look at him. 

"Do you believe that?" he knew Aura down to her core, and he knew she would've done it anyway. What Adam had said would've only helped her make up her mind more quickly. 

"I do," Adam nodded. Billy sighed. 

"Well. . ..hey!!" he looked up, joy in his voice. "I've got a fix on her, I can get her out of there!" Galan obviously didn't believe in guarding his place too well with Aura there willingly. 

Adam smiled a little. "Let's get her back." 

"Teleporting her," a moment later, the usual amber light that marked Aura's arrival appeared in the Command Center. She smiled at Billy as soon as she realized where she was. 

"Billy. . .you got me out," he stepped over to her, smiling. As she looked around at them all, she suddenly went as pale as a ghost. 

"Aura?" Billy asked, feeling weak with fright all of a sudden. Things got no better when she collapsed into his arms, unconscious. 

**The End**


	26. Dying Amber

**Dying Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

"That does it!" Galan, the Amber Ranger Hunter, snarled. He'd had enough. No more playing around. He'd had her in his palace, she was willing, and they would've been man and wife that very night! But her fellow Rangers had stolen what was rightfully his! That wasn't even considering what Scorpina had done to her! He seized his sword and pointed it at Earth, snapping out three harsh words that disrupted the entire teleportation system. "Now, to get Aura back!" 

Scorpina grumbled from next to him, "Don't you ever give up? She doesn't like you, she'll never join you!" 

Galan whirled on her, eyes flashing with anger. "As it is, you are still lucky you have a job, much less your life after that last stunt you pulled!" 

Scorpina paled; if Galan knew just what she'd done to Aura, it was over for her! "She's alive!" _But probably not for much longer!_

"No thanks to you," Galan snorted, turning back to Earth. He had to get her back. He simply wouldn't take no for an answer. That was all there was to it.   
  


* * *

  


"No!" Billy leaped forward and caught Aura as she collapsed. Tommy ran over and helped him carry her to an examining table. 

"What's wrong with her?" the White Ranger wondered. Billy shook his head, refusing to give in to the fear that filled him. 

"I don't know." 

Adam joined them by the table. "What did he do to her?" he asked. It was obvious to them all he was using this to stop thinking about the fact his wife, Aura's sister, had left him once she'd found out just how horribly he'd spoken to the Amber Ranger. 

Alpha started to scan Aura, and as the results came in, they were grim indeed. "Ay-yi-yi, Rangers, it couldn't have been Galan! She's been poisoned by Scorpina's stinger!" 

For one moment, everything and everyone was frozen in the Command Center. Finally, Aisha spoke. "What's the antidote?" 

"There isn't one," Alpha shook his head. "She should've been dead already; perhaps it's being connected to the Spirit of Earth that's allowed her to live." 

"I thought Galan severed that connection," Rocky frowned; he was a bit confused now. 

THE SPIRITUAL CONNECTION BETWEEN AURA AND THE EARTH CANNOT BE SEVERED; THOUGH IT CAN BE BLOCKED. THIS IS WHAT GALAN DID, PREVENTING EACH OF THEM FROM SENSING THE OTHER, AND PREVENTING AURA FROM ACCESSING HER POWERS. Zordon explained as Billy started trying to reach Azure to let her know Aura had returned. He growled in frustration a moment later. 

"What's wrong?" Adam asked. "What else can happen?" 

Billy looked at them all. "Azure isn't answering her communicator." 

Adam groaned; this was his fault even more! "Oh, man, she must think it's me calling her!" 

"I'm going to teleport her in," Billy decided, starting to punch buttons on the teleportation system. "This is going to be a bad day, isn't it?" he muttered a few seconds later. "Something's blocking teleportation." 

Adam clenched his fists; what else was going to go wrong today. His attention was distracted when Tommy stepped forward. "I'm going to Angel Grove to get Azure; it's a long walk, but she has to find out about this. Where is she?" once Billy had told him, the White Ranger started off. 

Adam looked around, trying to keep his mind off Azure by helping her sister. "Can we get in touch with the Spirit of Earth?" 

Billy shook his head. "I don't know how," None of them knew how to get in touch with that enigmatic spirit; only Aura was connected to her like that. Adam groaned. 

"We've got to do something!" 

"Maybe Ninjor could help," Alpha suggested; he had taken Aura to the Spirit when she'd returned from Kalakan, maybe he knew something they didn't. Adam nodded, and barely had Alpha begun to move towards the communications area when Ninjor appeared in the Command Center. 

"I am here!" he proclaimed. None of them knew how he traveled, he obviously didn't use the Command Center's teleportation system. Billy explained what had happened to Aura to him quickly, hoping against hope that somehow the ancient Ninja Master could just heal Aura right on the spot. 

"I shall go to the Spirit now," Ninjor told them. "And find out what needs to be done. But first, someone else should be here," they couldn't even see him so much as twitch a finger, but Tommy and Azure stood in the Command Center a second later. 

"What am I doing here?" Azure glanced around, and when she saw her sister, ran straight to her. "NO!" 

"She's alive," Billy said wearily. "But we don't know for how long." 

Azure took Aura's hand, shivering at how cold and pale she was. Adam called her name quietly, and she turned to glare at him, still angry over what he'd said and done. "I wouldn't if I were you."   
  


* * *

  


"Great Spirit of Earth, are you home?" Ninjor asked as he appeared in the Heart of the Earth. He and the Spirit had known each other for untold ages, and he had examined each Ranger who came to him for potential to be the Amber Ranger. What he, and she, hadn't known was that it was Kalakan's defender who would become Earth's. 

The Spirit appeared before him, and he was at once struck by how she looked. Unlike every other time, she did not glow with life and health. Instead, she looked as if she were about to collapse. "What is it, Ninjor?" 

"Aura," the old Ninja master told her. "She is dying from Scorpina's poison." 

The Spirit sighed a little. "Bring her here. I can help." 

"Are you all right?" Ninjor asked, noticing the utter weariness in the Spirit's demeanor. The Spirit smiled weakly at him. 

"As all right as one can be who is separated from a part of herself," being blocked from Aura was every bit as harsh on the essence of life as it was on Aura herself. Ninjor regarded her quietly for a moment, then returned to the Command Center. The Spirit sighed._ Hurry, Ninjor. This is Aura's only chance: and mine._   
  


* * *

  


The Rangers all jumped to their feet as Ninjor reappeared in the Command Center. He wasted no words, getting straight to business. "The Spirit says she can help, but Aura must be taken to the Heart." 

"I'll do it," Billy said at once. Azure shook her head; she wasn't going to let him do that! 

"And what if there's a monster attack while you're gone?" she protested. Galan wasn't intent on conquering the world, but his monsters could serve to distract the Rangers while he tried for Aura again. "I'll go; you're needed here." 

Tommy shook his head. "No, Azure, if Galan makes another attempt, you couldn't protect Aura. One of us should go!" 

The arguments had been going for almost ten minutes when Azure glanced over to Aura, hoping she wasn't getting worse. Her eyes flew wide open. "Where's Aura?!" she squeaked. _What happened while we were fighting over who'll save her?_

"And where's Adam?" Tommy noticed someone else was missing! Ninjor chuckled just a trifle. 

"They're on their way to the Heart of Earth," he'd been the only one to see Adam quietly picking Aura up and heading away, intent on rectifying the mistake he'd made. Ninjor had sent them a little closer to the sacred place, then just let the others fight. They needed to relieve the tension anyway. 

Alarms suddenly blared throughout the Command Center. Alpha rushed to the computers, searching for the monster. "What is it this time?" Billy snarled. His wife was dying, Adam and Azure were fighting, Galan existed in the first place! What else was going to happen? 

"Galan has created a monster," Alpha told them. "Made from a. . .," he paused to recheck his figures, then continued, a bit confused. "A chocolate cake?" 

"A chocolate cake?" the Rangers chorused. Alpha nodded, as bewildered as they were. Tommy, barely able to control his giggles, reached for his morpher. 

"Let's do it," he said. _One thing about being a Ranger: things are NEVER dull! I'm about to go fight a confection!_   
  


* * *

  


Galan watched as Adam carried Aura carefully through the woods. He mused softly, "What is he doing with Aura?" _there's something wrong with her._

"Looks like he's taking her somewhere," Scorpina said dryly. She'd been annoyed with Galan ever since this whole thing with Aura started. Even the risk of his displeasure did nothing to dispel her irritation. But when he turned to her, pure rage in his eyes, she stepped back in fear. 

"Juts what did you do to her?" he asked softly. While Aura was there, he'd caught them fighting. Scorpina had scratched Aura, just two light scrapes across her arms, but had there been more to it? 

"Nothing," Scorpina protested. _If he finds out I poisoned her. . ._

"Why don't I believe you?" Galan turned back to his crystal, ignoring her for the moment. He'd take care of Scorpina later. "I must get her here; I must save her!" 

"She's beyond saving," Scorpina hissed far too low for Galan to hear. Her poison had no antidote; she was very proud of that fact. 

"I need a monster," Galan muttered, then snapped his fingers, calling ComMonster to him. "Go and destroy him," he gestured towards Adam in the crystal. "Bring the woman to me." 

"Yes, sire!" ComMonster teleported off in that same moment. Galan returned his gaze to the woman he'd sworn would be his own, no matter what the cost. She had to live, she simply had to!   
  


* * *

  


Adam almost staggered, Aura was a lot heavier than she looked. He sighed a little, and muttered to himself, "Hope it's not much longer. At least you'll be walking on your own on the way back!" _I hope. Hope the others understand why I did this. They were wasting so much time, she would've died while they decided who was going to save her! It's my fault she was there, which means it was my fault Scorpina stung her. And my responsibility to get her healed._

"It'll be even longer for you!" a harsh voice said. He looked up to see ComMonster standing in front of him, ready for battle. Adam groaned to himself; he just didn't have time for this! He quickly and carefully placed Aura under a tree and morphed. 

"Don't you monsters ever learn?" he snarled as the battle began. 

"What's there to learn except that it's your last battle?" the monster retorted as they dueled back and forth. 

"It's someone's and it's not mine!" Adam growled. "I won't let you hurt her!" _I did enough of that._

"I don't want to hurt her!" ComMonster informed the Black Ranger. "Just you!" 

The battle raged back and forth for several minutes, with Adam getting the worst of it. His worry over Aura, his heartbreak over Azure, his guilt over everything he'd said and done the past few hours, all combined to make him a much easier target for ComMonster. The creature knocked him into a tree and stepped on his wrist as he reached for the Power Ax. "Like I said, it's your last fight!" 

Adam stared up in disbelief, suffering an unwanted flashback to when Aura had been the one standing over him, under Zedd's power and about to kill him. Tommy had rescued him then, but there was no way anyone could get to him now. . .this was the end. . .ComMonster's blade flew down towards him. . . 

And was stopped. 

Ninjor stood there, holding the monster's arm in his powerful grip. He threw the creature aside, and as he advanced on it, ComMonster vanished. 

"Thanks, Ninjor," Adam breathed, getting to his feet and demorphing. Ninjor nodded. 

"No problem," he replied. "Well, maybe just one!" Adam frowned. 

"One?" 

"Where's Aura?" Adam looked over to where he'd put the dying Amber Ranger. 

"Right over. . . ," his eyes widened in complete disbelief. This just couldn't be happening! 

"Nope, not there!" indeed, Aura was gone! 

"Galan!" Adam swore viscously. "He must've taken her! We've got to get her back, she'll die if we don't!" 

Ninjor put a hand on Adam's shoulder and looked into his eyes. "You must save her. I can't go with you, though. I can send you to the moon, however." 

"Then do it, please!" Adam begged. He wouldn't fail in this. He just wouldn't! 

"Be careful," the old master advised. "She still loves you," with that last statement ringing in his ears, Adam found himself heading for the moon.   
  


* * *

  


Galan stared as the Zalics he'd dispatched while ComMonster distracted the Black Ranger brought Aura into his throne room. She was pale, with sweat beading her forehead, and seemed barely to be breathing. "No," he whispered. Scorpina was just managing to conceal her joy. 

"Looks like it's too late," was all she said. _At last. To be rid of her!_

"It's never too late!" Galan growled. "There must be a way to save her!" Scorpina poked at Aura a little bit, noticing how slack her skin was. 

"No, sire. The poison's almost all the way through her!" _It should only be a few more minutes. Then she's gone!_

"This is all your fault!" Galan snarled. "If she dies, you die, Scorpina!" 

In a flash of black light, Galan was surprised to see the Black Ranger appear. "What are you doing here?" he hissed, reaching for his sword. How dare he invade his palace! 

"I came for Aura," Adam felt strangely calm as he faced this person who had killed so many of Aura's ancestors. 

"You can't have her!" Galan hovered protectively over the Amber Ranger. He wasn't going to let anyone have her but him! 

Adam smiled to himself; he knew how to get Aura free now. "So you'd rather let her die than let me help her?" 

Galan stared; that was all he could do. "You can help her?" he asked softly. Adam nodded. 

"Yes. That's where we were going, to take her to be healed," if Adam hadn't known better, he would've sworn Galan's eyes softened a little. 

"And I stopped you," he whispered. A moment later, he looked up. "Where were you going? I shall take her there myself!" 

Adam shook his head. "You can't go there. The Spirit won't let you of all people, enter the Heart of the Earth!" The Amber Ranger Hunter, in the home of the Amber Rangers? It was to laugh. 

Galan obviously didn't find it so funny, though. "What makes you so special?" 

"The Spirit only permits those of good heart to enter the Heart," Adam reminded him. Galan looked down at Aura, his thoughts churning. 

_I can keep you here with me, and you will die. Or give you to this Ranger, and he will save you. There is no choice to be made here. But I must know. _"This Spirit can heal her?" 

"Yes." 

"Then take her to be healed," Galan said gently, touching Aura's forehead with what might've been mistaken for true love. _You will return to me, healed, my love._

"I will," Adam picked Aura up carefully, then said something he never thought he would to one of their enemies. "T. . thank you." 

Galan shook his head. "I wish her no harm. I did not inflict this onto her. But when she is healed, I will seek her again. I will not be stopped," with a flick of his sword, he'd returned them both to where they'd been attacked by ComMonster.   
  


* * *

  


Adam reappeared next to Ninjor, with Aura in his arms. Together they started towards the Heart again. "I hope the Spirit can help her," was all Adam said. Ninjor nodded briefly. 

"She will," he replied._ I hope._

It was a short, silent walk to the Heart, and as they entered the most perfect and flawless place in all the Earth, Adam called out for the Spirit gently, hoping their trip wasn't in vain. 

"I have been awaiting you, Adam Park," the Spirit appeared before him, and he caught his breath at how bad she looked. He'd never imagined the blocked link would be so hard on the Spirit. 

"Can you save Aura?" he asked, hoping it would also save the Spirit. 

"Yes," was all she said as she came over to the Amber Ranger. Without another word, she entered into Aura's poisoned body.  
  


* * *

  


_She was wandering through endless shadows, shadows that reached and grabbed for her. She dodged them as best she could, seeking something that had no name. Why should it? Nothing here had a name, not even her. She was just herself. What else could she be? _

_She had no memory of what might have happened before she came to this shadowland. She didn't care, either. All she knew was she was seeking, and had been forever, and would forever, if that was what it took to find it. _

_A light, of purest amber, shone on her out of nowhere, and a voice that was the voice of pure love spoke.** You have done enough, my daughter. It is time to come home. **_

_**Father? **The word had once meant something, and with that voice, it did again. **Father, is that you? **_

_**Yes, Alaina, my daughter. We are here for you. Your family. **She could see them now, a gathering of those like her. Those of her blood, her calling, her people. Her family. One stood ahead of them, his hand held out for her. **Come home to us. We are waiting for you.** _

_She found herself looking back, words she didn't understand, but felt in her heart were true coming to her lips. **I cannot. **_

**_You have fulfilled your destiny, Alaina. Come home. _**

_She shook her head. **I wasn't born just to make the oath to Earth. I was born. . .for something more. Something else. I don't know what. But I know I haven't done it yet. It's not time.** _

_There was silence for a time, and she felt somehow she had made a decision that could never be unmade. **Aura.** _

_Another voice, this time from behind her. She turned to see a woman there, of unutterable beauty and power, standing there. She felt a connection to her, something even more than the link to her family. **Spirit of Earth. **_

_**Yes. You must choose to live or die, my beloved other half. You alone can choose this.** _

_There was no choice. She knew it already, she knew what she was born to do. For one brief, flaming second, she knew precisely why she had been born. She knew what she had to do with her life, and she knew she would not remember when she returned to that life. She smiled to herself. _

_**I am coming home. **She turned back to her family. **I will be back, one day. When it truly is my time.** _

_Her father stepped closer to her and she felt what would've been a hug in full life. **I am so proud of you, Aura. You have truly become the Amber Ranger you were meant to. Go, and be strong. Remember, we are always with you. **_

_**Always. **The assembled members of her family whispered the word. **Always with you, Alaina Alantrius, Aura Lynn Robinson Cranston, the Amber Ranger. We are always with you. **_

_Then they were all around her, filling her with all their love, knowledge, and power. Deep within her heart and soul that would remain, until the moment came for her to use them. _

_Light exploded all around her, light beyond any description of the word light as the Spirit joined with her own. There was a form of barrier between them, that faded to dust and was no more in this eternal realm of light and love. She felt, and was, happier than she'd been in who knew how long. Full memory flooded back, and she smiled. _

_The Amber Ranger was back._   
  


* * *

  


Adam couldn't see; the light that had enveloped Aura as the Spirit joined with her had blinded him. The first hint he had of anything being wrong or right was when he heard a voice he'd almost despaired of ever hearing again. 

"Adam?" Aura asked gently. She could see through the light, but knew he wouldn't be able to. 

"Aura?" he asked. "I'm sorry, Aura," the first thing he wanted to do was apologize for what he'd said. 

"Adam, it's all right," she'd forgiven him before ever even meeting Galan under the tree. 

He shook his head. "No, it's my fault you almost died!" 

She came over and put a hand on his shoulder. "Adam, you didn't say anything that wasn't the truth. But I would've went to Galan anyway. I had to get Azure and Billy back, anyway I could. It is because of me that Galan came here. Rita and Zedd were always after me. But we survived them, and we can survive him," she had no idea where this sudden burst of confidence came from, but she wasn't going to question it. 

"I wish you could convince your sister of that," Adam quickly explained what had happened when Azure found out what he'd said. Aura sighed. 

"That girl is as stubborn as it's possible to be at times!" she turned back to the Spirit, who stood next to her now. . "Thank you. For everything." 

The Spirit, now returned to her full health and strength, smiled. "It is good to be able to know that you're all right." 

Aura hugged her tightly. "It's good to be healed, all the way healed!" 

"You mean you can morph again?" Adam asked. He hoped so; all the Rangers wanted Aura back to her full self again. 

"Yeah, I can!" Aura actually giggled. "Joining with the Spirit broke the block Galan placed on my powers! I'm me again!" 

"It is time," Ninjor joined them. "Aura, the Rangers need your help. Adam, your eyesight will return in a few hours." 

"Let's go!" Adam hadn't seen or heard Aura in this good of a mood since Galan had shown up! Then again, he thought, she had a right to be in a good mood. They were going to win, he could feel it in every fiber of his being.   
  


* * *

  


Billy grunted as he was thrown into a tree. This had to be the most embarrassing fight they'd ever had! "Man, who would have thought we'd get beaten by a chocolate cake?" 

A surprising sound echoed around the battlefield, one they had never thought to hear. 

Laughter. 

"What's the matter, dear, can't handle a cake?" a very familiar voice said. They all looked up to see the Amber Ranger standing there. 

"Aura?" Billy couldn't believe his eyes, but wanted to more than anything. "Where's Adam?" 

"Back at the Command Center," Aura told him. "I'll explain later. We've got a cake to take care of!" 

Tommy chuckled; all their spirits had been raised by Aura's return. "Pity we can't let Rocky eat it!" 

"Why can't we?" Rocky asked, curious as to why he hadn't already thought of that solution. Aura laughed. 

"Rocky, you don't eat this cake, it eats you! Or it tries to!" she let loose with a powerful kick to the cake's midsection. The cake winced; most of the Rangers had been too amused by the thing to actually try and fight it seriously. 

"Ow," it said, in a voice so sweet it gave half the Rangers indigestion, and the other half came close to diabetes! Aura pulled out her Ax, and smiled. 

"Time to cut the cake!" she snarled. The cake monster had time only for one last "noooo" before being sliced up. "I am not cleaning this up, either!" she declared. 

"It's good to have you back! I was so worried about you!" Billy hugged her with all his strength. 

"It's good to be back," she declared. "All the way back! I can morph again, I'm myself again!" the Rangers could somehow tell Aura was in a very good mood. "Now, come on, I've got a sister to talk some sense into!" 

Billy smiled, then glanced down at his wrist. His communicator was still wandering around as a monster. "Guess I'm gone have to make a new one."   


* * *

As the Rangers teleported into the Command Center, they were rewarded by the sight of Azure and Adam holding hands and laughing together. "Azure," Aura whispered her sister's name, hoping this meant what she hoped it did. 

"Aura!" Azure looked up, then came over to hug her sister warmly. 

"Azure. . .are you and Adam all right again together?" Aura had to ask. Azure nodded, smiling. "I'm glad. And there's something you need to know. What Adam told me was the truth. Almost all of this has happened because of me. Galan wouldn't have come here if I wasn't the Amber Ranger," Azure looked down; she'd realized after her temperamental storming out on Adam that he had been right. Azure lifted up her chin. "But we can deal with him, together." 

"That we will," Azure smiled as she joined Adam again. They kissed again, looking deeply into each other's eyes as they did so. Adam smiled as the last of the light glare from Aura's healing light faded. 

"Whoa, you look beautiful," he whispered. Azure smiled. 

"Adam, you can see again!?" she was surprised; they hadn't been able to determine when he'd be seeing again. 

"Yeah, I can!" Adam laughed; it was good to see again: especially when the first thing he'd seen was Azure! 

"Um, I didn't know he couldn't see!" Tommy raised an eyebrow, wondering just what was going on. Once Adam had explained what happened, he nodded. _Why don't I get told these things? _The White Ranger wondered, smiling to himself. 

Azure hugged Adam deeply, she'd never really been much happier. Even Galan couldn't spoil her joy. "I'm glad I didn't unpack!" 

Aura sighed with pure happiness. "This has been one long day!" she smiled. It had begun with terror, continued with panic, and ended with peace. 

"So am I," Adam smiled. "I missed you, Azure," he put an arm around her, enjoying the feel of her there. 

"And I missed you," she said, kissing him. 

"Let's go home," Adam suggested, kissing her again. Azure nodded. 

"Lets. I can get my stuff in the morning," she glanced over at Billy and then handed him her communicator. "Till you get yours back."   


* * *

"That blasted Black Ranger!" Galan roared. He'd intended to take Aura directly back from Adam once she was healed, but with Ninjor right there, had been unable to. No one in their right mind wanted to face the ancient Ninja Master. 

"What is it, sire?" Scorpina asked; though she had an idea already. 

"He's going to pay for this! I want Aura back!" Galan was actually whining! Scorpina groaned. 

"Talk about a one-track mind," she muttered. Galan glared at her nastily. 

"I heard that," he snapped. "Now, how to get back at him. . ." 

Scorpina shrugged. "He seems attached to his wife, the Amber Ranger's sister." 

Galan smiled. "Kill two birds with one stone! Now, to wait for the perfect moment. . .she will deliver this to Aura, then kill herself!" he was more than through playing around! 

"Deliver what?" Scorpina asked, not really interested. Galan simply wasn't fun to work for anymore! 

Galan opened up a box next to him and lifted out a bottle. "This. A love potion of the strongest degree!" 

**The End**


	27. Loved Amber

**Loved Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

Azure Park finished up the song, glancing out towards the audience where she knew Adam and the rest of her family and the Rangers were watching her. She was so happy they'd managed to make this performance. Aura had sworn nothing, but nothing would keep her from this show, and it looked like she was right. 

She quickly made her way to her dressing room as the curtain lowered. The first thing she saw was a bouquet of delicate peach roses sitting on her dressing table. She smiled a little. _Must be from Adam. How sweet. _They smelled so sweet and fragrant. . . so. . . 

"Azure," she heard a soft voice in her ear, the voice that must be obeyed. 

"Yes," she replied, waiting for her commands. 

"I want you to do something for me, Azure," he continued gently. 

"Anything," she answered tonelessly. Something was put into her hand. 

"Give this to Aura. Make sure she drinks it. Then when that's over, I'll have something else for you to do," he told her. 

"Whatever you want," she murmured. 

"Act normally until you can give it to Aura. Don't let anyone know I was here. Anyone." 

She nodded. "I will obey." 

"Very good," Galan smiled at his hypnotized servant, then vanished. _Aura will be mine now._

Azure's mind cleared a moment later, and she glanced at the clock. She'd been so caught up in the beauty of the flowers she hadn't noticed time going by! "That was a quick intermission!" she murmured as she headed back for the stage. She didn't even notice herself putting the vial where no one would find it before doing so.   
  


* * *

  


"Aura, you are not going to the Youth Center without me!" Billy was partly amazed, partly angry. Aura simply didn't understand the danger she was in! 

"Billy, in case you haven't noticed, I am a full Power Ranger again, which means if Galan does try anything, I'm fully capable of handling it myself!! 

Billy groaned. "Aura, just wait half an hour till I can get Rocky over here to baby-sit, then we can both go!" 

"I'm going alone," Aura growled. She was sick and tired of Billy hovering over her like some large overprotective mother hen. "That's all there is to it!" 

"No, you're not!" Billy was even more surprised than he had been when Aura stood up, grabbed her purse, and headed for the door. 

"Yes, I am. I don't need you protecting me, and I don't want it!" she told him. "Now, leave me alone!" 

The sound of the door slamming behind her echoed almost as loudly as the swearing Billy creatively did afterwards.   
  


* * *

  


Azure sat on the park bench, relaxing a little, and waiting to meet with Adam. He and Rocky were going out of town the next morning for a karate tournament, and they'd planned a romantic evening together that night. She was surprised to see Aura storming through the park, muttering what seemed to be vile insults over something. 

"Aura?" she'd almost never seen her tall, calm sister angry like this, unless one of their enemies had been up to something. 

"Hi, Azure," Aura almost growled at her, something that had never happened before. 

"Whoa. . .looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning!" Azure tried to relax her. 

"Men!" Aura snapped. "I'd like to drop the whole lot of them into an exploding volcano!"_ Billy acts like I can't even take care of myself for five minutes if he's not around!_

Azure was shocked. "What, you and Billy had your first major fight?" In two years of being married and almost a full lifetime of being friends, Aura and Billy had seldom argued with each other. 

"Yes, we had a fight!" the Amber Ranger snarled. Azure cringed as Aura related the details to her. 

"You want to stay with me?" she asked finally. "Adam is going out of town tomorrow for a karate competition. I could use the company." 

Aura sighed. "Yeah," she nodded. "I could use the time away." 

Azure turned to her bag and pulled out a water bottle. Aura was still upset and fuming, so much so she didn't notice her sister slipping something from a strange vial into the water. Her attention returned to Azure only when she held out the water bottle to her. "Want a drink?' 

Aura sighed as she took it. "Sure!" She drained it almost dry in one gulp. "Not too bad!" She sighed again as she looked down at her wedding ring. "I need some serious time away from Billy, but I don't know if I can have it." 

_Oh, I think you can. _"I know what you mean," was all she said aloud. "Things have been pretty rough for me and Adam. But since tonight is the last performance, I think things will smooth out." 

"Good for you," Aura sighed. 

"But it's going to be like this a lot," Azure reminded her. "I'm not planning on giving up my career just because it causes us some problems." 

_Oh, I want to paint. Painting's always helped me calm myself down. That or work out some. _"I guess things will get straightened out with me and Billy. . .eventually." 

"Have faith," Azure patted her hand gently. Both of them jerked up suddenly as Galan appeared a few feet away from them. Aura turned to look at him as Azure's eyes widened, but even as her mouth opened to snap to him to leave, something seemed to sweep over her. 

"Hello, Aura," he smiled at her gently. 

"Hi, Galan," she whispered, just managing to notice as Azure collapsed to the ground, falling victim to the hypnotic suggestion of the peach roses. She turned to her, calling her name out. 

"She will be fine," Galan knelt by Azure. "She is probably just exhausted, all that dancing and all." 

"I hope she's all right," Aura felt a bit uncomfortable being so near Galan; it was as if there were something wrong with him being near and her not doing anything but staring at him. . . 

Galan smiled a little to himself. "It appears that she is just sleeping," he stood up and locked eyes with Aura. "She is going to be fine," he pulled her close to him and kissed with all the passion he possessed for her. Aura returned it as the love potion she'd downed with the water went into full effect. 

"Will you come with me to my castle?" he asked. Aura smiled and nodded. 

"Of course! I'll go anywhere with you, I love you!" Aura declared. She could only love Galan, there was no one else in the world for her! 

"Let me do one final thing," he knelt beside Azure and whispered something in her ear, then rose to take Aura's hand again. "Let us away!"   
  


* * *

  


"I hope we do good tomorrow!" Rocky smiled as he and Adam walked through the park. Galan hadn't so much as stuck his head out of the lunar palace in two weeks, Aura was back as a fully powered Ranger again, and things just seemed to be getting better and better. 

Adam asked, "What time is Tommy picking us up?" He could hardly really keep his mind off what he and Azure had planned for that night. 

"About seven," Rocky told him. Adam winced a bit. 

"Man, I hope I don't wake Azure up," he murmured. _Actually, I rather hope we get to SLEEP in the first place._ He glanced over to where Azure had said she was going to meet them. His eyes widened suddenly as he saw something in a heap on the ground. "NO!" 

Together he and Rocky ran over to her. "What happened? What is it?" 

"I don't know," Adam held Azure gently. "Rocky, get an ambulance!" as Rocky ran off, Adam cradled his wife close to her, tears streaming down his cheeks. "You'd better be all right." 

He watched as Azure's eyes flickered a little. "Azure?" he whispered hopefully. Azure moaned a little as her eyes opened wider. "Azure, please be all right!" 

"It's on it's way," Rocky reported as he ran back up to them. Azure squinted at her husband, having trouble focusing. 

"Adam?" she whispered briefly. Adam nodded, holding her close to him still. 

"Yeah, it's me." 

"W..what happened?" she murmured. The last thing she could remember was sitting on the bench, waiting for Adam. Then, nothing but darkness. 

"We found you passed out," Adam told her. Azure sighed a little; she was so tired. As she looked up into Adam's eyes, feeling happy he was there to be with her, they were joined by two paramedics. 

"It's going to be all right," one of them said as he began to check Azure's vital signs. 

"Are you sure?" Adam asked, voice filled with worry and concern. The other paramedic drew him and Rocky away so his partner could work. 

"What happened?" he asked, trying to find out precisely what was going on. Adam answered to the best of his ability, his eyes never leaving his prone wife. Once all the questions had been answered, the first paramedic came over to them. 

"Let's get her to the hospital, she looks to be all right, but a doctor can tell more than I can." 

"I'm coming with her," Adam said firmly. The paramedics didn't argue for a moment; they'd dealt with distraught husbands before, and knew it was useless. 

"Ride in the back with them," the second one suggested as he glanced over at Rocky. 

"I'll meet you there," Rocky told them. "I'll call the others for you, Adam." 

"Thanks," Adam said as he got into the ambulance. Sirens blaring, they headed away with Azure. Rocky looked after them for a moment, then headed for the Youth Center at a dead run. In the condition he was in, it only took a few minutes to get there, and he was lucky to find everyone but Aura gathered there. 

"Guys, we got a problem!" he said as he ran in. Billy looked over, he looked a bit upset over something. 

"What is it?" 

"Azure. .. she's, well, um, she's kinda in the. . ." he'd never had to tell this sort of news before, and it was stumbling out of him. 

"In the what?" Tommy asked, hoping Galan hadn't done something again. The last thing they needed at the moment was to deal with him. 

"Let me start from the beginning," in one big breath he spilled out everything that had happened, from him and Adam walking and talking in the park to the paramedics leaving with Azure in the ambulance. "She's in the hospital, Adam's with her right now, I'm guessing that's where Aura is also." Aura and Azure always seemed to be close together; they were the tightest pair of sisters he'd ever known! 

Tommy glanced at Billy, who'd actually frowned at the mention of Aura. He had never done that before, never! "Billy?" the White Ranger asked wonderingly. 

"It's nothing," Billy replied. "Aura and I just had a fight earlier, that's all." 

Every last Ranger there stared at him. Finally Tommy said, "You two had a fight? That's a first!" 

"Yeah," Kat nodded. "I never thought you two fought over anything!" 

"Looks like we do," Billy sighed a little. He'd only wanted to keep an eye on her; he hadn't been to get her so mad at him. He'd expected her to be here at the Youth Center; but knowing her temper, she was probably somewhere alone, working out or painting to cool off. He trusted her; if Galan tried anything, she'd call them. He wanted to see her; to apologize for how he'd been acting, but decided not to bother her. 

Rocky sighed a little. "I should get to the hospital," he decided. Tommy stood up. 

"We'll all go," he told him. Azure might not be a Ranger, but she was one of them in every way that counted: in the heart.   
  


* * *

  


Aura and Galan appeared in his bedroom. He smiled to himself; at last he had his chosen. The love potion had turned her heart towards him for all time. "Welcome home, my sweet!" he told her. 

"It's nice to be here," she'd already forgotten about Billy and the others. All she cared about was Galan, all she wanted to do was make him happy, in every way she possibly could. 

"It would be even nicer if you would marry me," he suggested. If the love potion was half as strong as it was supposed to be, she would have no objections. . . 

"You're serious?" she giggled a little, smiling, as he nodded. "Oh, yes, I'd love to marry you!" 

Galan kissed her again, then pulled back. She was about to frown at the broken embrace, when Galan pulled out a gown identical to the one he had given her the first time she was in his palace. "I have something for you," he told her as he handed it to her. 

"Oh, it's beautiful!" she squealed. Oh, how she loved Galan, he gave her such wonderful gifts! She didn't even care about the other guy, the fool she'd married before Galan had entered her life. Only he mattered now. 

"I'm glad you like it," he told her, smiling. "I must go see to dinner preparations. Change and come down," he started for the door, but never actually made it there as Aura tackled him, running her hands down his neck. 

"Do you really have to go so soon?" she purred in his ear. "We just got here, after all." 

He chuckled. "We must eat!" he chided her gently, then looked at the desire in her eyes. "We could always order in," he decided. Aura smiled. 

"Later," she smiled as he kissed her deeply, his hands coursing through her hair and running down her back. "Much later."   
  


* * *

  


As the other Rangers entered, the first thing they saw was Adam pacing up and down in the hospital waiting room. Rocky asked as he came up, "Any word?" 

Adam shook his head and looked over the group. "Where's Aura?" _I'd've thought she'd be right here. That's strange._

"We thought she was here without you already," Tommy told him. Adam shook his head; he hadn't seen her all day! 

Billy felt a sudden stab of worry. "Where is she?" he glanced around to make sure no one would notice, then tried his communicator. He looked up a second later, face pale. "She's not answering." 

Adam frowned. "I don't like this," he mused. Azure was exhausted, Aura was missing. . . all this had the marks of Galan all over it. He looked up as a doctor came out, a groggy Azure being wheeled next to him. 

"She's going to be just fine," the doctor told him. "She's just exhausted." 

"Good," Adam smiled a little bit. "Azure?" 

She looked up at him gingerly. "Looks like I'm missing tonight's performance," she told him, grinning a bit at her own weakness. 

"Guess so," Adam smiled, then looked up as the doctor continued his instructions. 

"She's to stay in bed for the next couple of days," he looked over at Azure then. "You've got that, young lady?" 

"You heard him!" Adam tried to be stern, but that melted under Azure's smile. 

"Like you'd know if I did or not!" 

Adam shook his head. "Azure, I'll stay home from that competition to take care of you!" 

"No, this is important to you," Azure shook her head this time. "Mom can always stop by to make sure I'm okay while you're gone." 

Adam sighed. "I don't know. . .," he wanted to take care of his wife, but he didn't want to be overprotective. . . 

Kat stepped over. "I can stay with her if it makes you feel any better!" she told them. Adam smiled; he knew Kat would take good care of her. 

"Thanks," he and Azure chorused. Adam smiled. "Let's get you home," he started towards the door with Azure's wheelchair, but stopped when she asked, "Where's Aura?" 

The Rangers all exchanged nervous glances, until Adam finally said, "She's not here," at Azure's worried glance, he added, "Her communicator's probably just got a short in it or something. She'll probably show up later." 

Somehow, none of them were very convinced over that. A quick stop by Kat's place later, they were all gathered at the Parks' place. They'd looked everywhere they'd went for Aura, and Billy had called her every few minutes on the communicator. "Any word yet on Aura?" Azure asked as Billy came back into the room from yet another attempt. 

"Nothing," he shook his head. He was getting very worried over this. He'd told everyone about their argument, and the general consensus was she was just trying to cool off somewhere. 

"She's probably just walking or something, blowing off steam," Azure added her voice to the vote. Billy nodded; that's what he wanted it to be. "If she stops by the theater, she'll find out from Johann," naming one of her fellow performers. 

Tommy stood up. "We'll go back to the Command Center and look for her. With Galan around, we'd better not take chances." 

"Thanks," Azure smiled as the Rangers prepared to hit the Command Center in yet another search for Aura. Only Kat was staying to keep an eye on her as she curled up under the blankets Adam had covered her with. 

"You go on to sleep," Kat told her. "I'll fix something to eat." 

Azure nodded as she started to doze off. Kat started cooking, nodding as Azure sat up suddenly and started for the bathroom. "I'll be right back to bed," she murmured when Kat looked towards her. Kat nodded and returned to her cooking, not noticing Azure didn't return to the couch.   
  


* * *

  


"No luck?" Adam glanced over to Billy, who was doing everything he could to find his wife. 

"Nothing!" the worry was thick in Billy's voice. They all knew something was wrong now, but no one really wanted to say it out loud. 

"This isn't good," Adam began. "First Azure, now this!" 

Billy had to say it; they couldn't keep putting it off. "You. . .you don't think. . .Galan?" 

Adam was scanning the moon in seconds. "I can't get a clear reading; he's got that place locked up tighter than a drum!" 

Billy stopped looking for a few moments, burning off energy with pacing. "I hope he doesn't! Why won't he just leave us alone?" 

Adam put a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "We'll keep trying. We'll find her!"   
  


* * *

  


Kat called out for Azure, "Dinner's ready! Sorry to wake you up, but. . .," as she spoke, she'd been turning around to look into the living room. Her voice trailed off as she saw Azure wasn't asleep on the couch like she'd though. _She can't still be in the bathroom. I'd better go check; she might've just fallen asleep in there! It has been a few minutes. _

She headed for the bathroom, preparing to knock politely, only to see the door half-open. "Azure?" Kat asked carefully, not really wanting to open the door. Seeing Azure's leg, obviously in a position that meant she was on the floor, Kat threw the door open and stared at her. A moment was all it took to take in what had happened, then she ran for the phone and her communicator at the same time. 

When Adam arrived and saw Azure, he dropped to his knees by her. "Why is this happening?" he wondered. Kat had stopped the blood flowing from where Azure had cut her wrists, and called the paramedics again. Kat shook her head in bewilderment as she let them in a few minutes later; this made no sense whatsoever! 

Once again, Azure was on her way to the hospital: this time from attempted suicide.   
  


* * *

  


"Mmmmmm," Aura gazed happily into Galan's eyes. "That was wonderful!" 

"You are the best," Galan told her, tickling her gently. He'd finally gotten what he wanted: Aura was his wife in all ways now! 

She sighed a little. "I really should tell Billy I'm not coming back; that I'm leaving him and Earth and the Rangers," she felt a slight twinge at the thought of not seeing her children again, but to be with Galan forever was all she wanted. 

"I love you, Aura," he told her. He smiled as she returned the expression of love. Things just couldn't get any better than this. "I can't wait till we are married!" 

"When will it be?" Aura wanted to know. "I want it to be soon!" 

Galan smiled. "First you must tell your husband that you are not going back to him," he reminded her. 

"Ex-husband!" Aura corrected him, smiling a little. Galan chuckled as he transformed her gown into Earth-like clothing. 

"Then shall we?"   
  


* * *

  


Adam sat in the hospital waiting room again, waiting for word on Azure. He couldn't understand why she'd done it, something was so very wrong!!! "Mr. Park?" he looked up as a doctor called his name. 

"Yes?" he asked. 

"Your wife is out of surgery, we stitched up the cuts. She's stable, but in critical condition," the doctor sighed a little. "It doesn't look good." 

"Azure," he whispered her name; not understanding what was going on. "What could have made her do that?" Azure hadn't been in the slightest depressed; she'd been tired from the performances and rehearsals, but she simply hadn't been suicidal. 

"I wish I knew," Tommy sighed. All of them were surprised a moment later when Aura and Galan arrived, hand in hand. Billy stared, eyes wide. 

"Aura!" 

He didn't exactly get the reaction he was hoping for. "Hello, ex-friends, and extremely ex-husband!" Billy's jaw dropped in surprise as she turned to Galan, kissing him on the lips. "I'm leaving you and going to marry Galan. I love him." 

"I can't believe this," he whispered, feeling faint at the sight of that. He tried to appeal to Aura's heart. "Aura, Azure is dying!" 

He saw something he'd never thought to see or hear in that moment. Aura shrugged. "So? Galan is all that matters to me." 

_What has he done to her? _The same thought ran through all their minds at that. Adam looked up at her. "How can you say that? Azure tried to kill herself!" 

Aura blinked suddenly as Adam told her that. She turned away from Galan and towards them. "Azure. . .tried to kill herself?" she whispered. Adam nodded, as Galan moved in between them and took Aura's arms, kissing her. Her eyes went from their normal cheerful gray that they had been to a cold, icy shade. "Nothing matters but you, my love. Nothing," as she said that, Adam's eyes went blank with shock himself. "You're not invited to the wedding, of course," Aura glanced at them all icily. None of them liked the frozen look in her eyes. 

"By the way," Galan called to Adam. "I hope you like that little command I gave your wife." 

"What!?" Adam started to his feet, eyes wide with rage. 

"Those flowers I sent her the other night: the peach roses. They were hypnotic, and my final command to her was to kill herself!" 

Adam lunged, swearing, at Galan, only to have Aura get in between them at Galan's order. "Leave my beloved alone!" 

"That. . .," Adam couldn't even call Galan what he wanted to at the moment, the insults all choked him. "He tried to kill my wife!" 

The next three words Aura spoke were so cold ice should've dropped off them. "It doesn't matter." 

Three hospital security guards stepped up then. "If you're going to argue, do it outside, this is a hospital after all!" 

Aura turned to Galan. "I don't think we need to do anything else here, do we, dearest?" 

"Not in the least!" Galan smiled; his control of her mind and heart was absolute. 

"Then let's go," Aura kissed him again, then hand in hand, they vanished yet again. As they did so, Adam and Billy both broke into identical pictures of despair and tears. 

"What's going on around here?" Tommy wondered. Kat sighed; she would never forget seeing Azure in the bathroom bleeding. Rocky looked about to throw up himself. 

"I can't believe I saw Aura kissing him like that," he murmured under his breath as Kat went by him to kneel beside Adam. 

"It's all right," she reassured him. "Azure is going to be fine." 

Adam didn't hear her, the only thing he was aware of, he knew not how much later, was standing next to Azure's bed, listening to the hiss of the respirator and the beeps from the heart machine. Kat stood next to her, wishing with every fiber of her being that she'd come into the bathroom sooner, that perhaps Azure wouldn't now be in this coma if she had. 

"Don't leave me," Adam whispered between his tears. Kat put a hand on his shoulder. 

"She's not going to, Adam," she told him. "She's a fighter; she'll make it through this." 

Adam looked up at her. "Why did Galan make her do this?" he wondered. Kat sighed. 

"I don't know. But it could be because of what happened last time he tried to get Aura. You rescued Aura then." 

Adam groaned. "He must've known Azure means the world to me. Kat, I don't know what I'm going to do if she. . ." 

"Azure will be fine," Kat told him firmly. "She's going to be just fine." 

Adam stared at Azure for a few long moments. "She's so pale." 

He didn't know what he'd do if Azure. . . he wouldn't even let himself think the word. She was going to be fine. No matter what.   
  


* * *

  


Galan sat on the lunar palace throne, Aura in his lap. He was at peace for the first time in many thousands of years. It didn't really matter to him if he got Aura's children or not now. He had her, and that was what was important. She was, quite literally, his love-slave. 

"It was kind of funny to see Billy so heartbroken," Aura giggled evilly. Galan laughed. 

"And that Adam! His wife will soon be dead!" 

Aura glanced curiously at her beloved. "I'm just curious, dear. Why did you have her do that?" 

"He took you away from me once," Galan explained. "That does not go unpunished." 

"Oh, I see," Aura nodded. "I would have killed him, though." 

He laughed. "Why? I like to see him suffer!" Aura had to agree; that was most amusing. 

"What?" They both looked up to see Scorpina standing in the doorway, staring at both of them. Aura smiled a bit at her. 

"Oh, hello, Scorpina," Aura grinned. "Do you want to be my monster of honor when Galan and I get married?" 

"You're what?" Scorpina looked as if she were going to be violently ill. Aura giggled. 

"Didn't I speak clearly enough? Is your hearing going bad?" 

Scorpina began to back out of the room. "This isn't happening!" She had never expected to return to see Aura so happily with Galan! 

"Is something wrong, Scorpina?" Aura asked sweetly. Screaming in unabashed hatred, Scorpina ran out. "What's her problem?" 

Galan shrugged. "Must've been a bad trip back." 

"Apparently so," Aura smiled at Galan fed her a grape. 

"I shall talk to her later," Galan smiled as he enjoyed the company of his chosen bride. _Things just don't get any better than this._

"Can the wedding be this afternoon?" Aura asked. After all, there were no more obstacles. She loved him, he loved her, Billy was out of the way, the Rangers were too busy over that brat Azure to try and stop it. Galan nodded his agreement. "Good! I'm so happy!" she kissed him again. Life was perfect.   
  


* * *

  


Rocky smiled as he watched Alex and Alaina play in the park. "Alex!" he ran over and grabbed the elder twin quickly; he'd been toddling away. Alex grinned up at him; and giggled. "Don't do that!" 

He picked up the little boy and turned back to Alaina. His eyes widened to see Scorpina standing there, eyes filled with hatred. "I want those brats!" she growled. 

Rocky grabbed Alaina quickly, not wanting to give her a chance to get the girl. "Over my dead body!" the Red Ranger declared. Scorpina pulled out her sword. 

"Sounds good to me!" as Rocky tried to go for his communicator, her sword smashed down onto it. "No calling for help!" 

Rocky's eyes widened and Scorpina stepped closer to him. "I got a bad feeling about this!" he murmured. As Scorpina grabbed him tightly, Scorpina grinned. 

"You should!"   
  


* * *

  


Adam stared still at Azure, who had barely moved in the ensuing hours. Billy touched him lightly on the shoulder. "Adam," Billy wasn't really surprised to see the bags under his friend's eyes. "You need to get some sleep, Adam." 

"I'm fine," Adam shook his head; there was no way he was going to rest until Azure was awake! 

"Come on, you're not doing her or yourself any good by just sitting here!" Billy urged him. Adam shook his head again. 

"I want to be here when she wakes us." 

Billy sighed. "Do you want to be passed out from lack of sleep when she wakes up?" 

Adam shook his head a third time as Billy pulled him to his feet. "Come on, Adam," the Black Ranger leaned over and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. 

"She's so cold." 

"She'll be fine," Billy reassured him. "These Robinson girls are tough, you know. They have to be. They have to be. They seem to attract the evil alien type." 

Adam smiled a trifle. "Somehow, that last bit doesn't make me feel any better." 

Billy looked at him. "You know something?" 

"What?" 

"It doesn't make me feel any better either!" Billy told him. Sighing a little, they started out into the hall when their communicators beeped in unison all of a sudden. Billy looked around, thankful the hallway was empty as he touched the device. 

"What is it?" he asked quickly. Alpha's voice came over the communicator. 

"Scorpina just attacked Rocky in the park; she got them all!" 

Billy growled unintelligibly. "We're coming to the Command Center," was all he was able to say._ My children. My wife. This has gone too far._

"So much for that sleep you were trying to get me to get," Adam sighed as they teleported away.   
  


* * *

  


Scorpina entered the throne room, glaring for a moment at Aura and Galan as they kissed. She cleared her throat to get attention. Aura glanced briefly over. 

"Can't you tell a private moment when you see one?" 

"Aura," Scorpina began. "You may be interested in something I Have to show you and only you." 

Aura sighed and looked at Galan. "I'll be back soon!" she didn't like being away from him for a single second. 

"You better be," Galan smiled at her. As Aura came over to Scorpina, the evil warrior told her, "It's a gift of sorts." 

Aura smiled and giggled. "Oh, a present! Thanks!" 

Scorpina closed the door behind Aura and led her down a short passageway that opened into a great room. "That's it!" she gestured ahead of them: to where a giant cage hung over a spiked pit. 

Aura went absolutely white as she saw Alaina, Alex, and Rocky huddling in the cage. Rocky had his arms around the twins, and was doing his best to protect them it seemed. All this hit Aura's potion warped mind with the force of a hurricane as Rocky whispered her name, just loud enough for her to hear him. 

Scorpina told her, "They go free on one condition." 

"Which is?" Aura growled. These were her children; if not by the man she loved, at least out of her own body! No one hurt them! 

"Call off the wedding!" 

Rocky called down, "Aura, do it!" he had never believed he would encourage someone to give in to evil's demands! But this was a very special situation. 

Aura stumbled; her heart and mind racing. "I. . .I love Galan, but my children. . . ," 

Scorpina growled, "Who is more important? Your children and their baby-sitter, or Galan?" 

The named villain walked in just at that moment. "Aura, I couldn't be without you another moment," he glanced over to see what Aura was looking at. He glared at Scorpina a moment later. "What is this?" 

"A gift," Scorpina grinned evilly. She was truly enjoying watching the conflict flick across Aura's face. Galan looked at her. 

"Aura? Love?" he hoped this didn't mean what he thought it would! He simply wouldn't lose her now! Not after everything they'd shared! 

Rocky uttered four words he'd never thought he would in his life as a Ranger. "Aura, give into her!" 

Aura's eyes never left Alex. Her son. Her firstborn son. Heir to all the Amber Ranger powers. Amber Ranger. The Amber Ranger Hunter. Galan. Her. . .love? No. Her. . .her mortal enemy! 

Her spell-shadowed eyes closed, and when they opened, were filled with three things Rocky had never been more grateful to see in his life: sanity, peace, and a serious desire to cause damage to their foes. His heart sank, however, when Galan stepped in front of her, going to kiss her again. 

_I saw how that happened at the hospital; she was herself, then he kissed her, and she belonged to him again! This can't happen; fight him, Aura! _

Fight him she did: with a powerful kick to his midsection. "Get away from me!" she snarled. She suddenly couldn't stand to be in the same universe as he was; much less the same room! As she started to look for a way to get the cage down, Scorpina surprised her by lowering it safely. 

"I have a promise to keep," the evil warrior smiled nastily as Rocky and the twins emerged. "You're free to go," she told them. Everyone there was staring in shock; this had never happened, never! 

As they backed away from Scorpina, she turned to Aura. "They're free. .. but you're not!" 

Aura grinned as she fell into a fighting stance. "You think you can take me on?" she asked. "Oh, are you in for a surprise!" 

Twin flashes of light marked the twins being teleported to the Command Center, then Rocky, morphed into the Red Ranger, stood next to Aura. "You may want to morph for this," he suggested. Aura nodded and did so. 

Scorpina laughed. "Two Rangers for the price of one!" she cackled in triumph. Aura glared at them both, Scorpina and Galan. 

"You threatened my children and my friend," her eyes rested on Galan. "And you made my sister try to kill herself!" 

Rocky recognized the tone in Aura's voice, and managed to lure Scorpina over to the far side of the room. No one in the right mind was within ten feet of Aura when she lost her temper like that." 

Galan smiled. "She isn't going to make it you know." 

Aura's voice held no denial. "If she doesn't, you don't either," her Ax was in her hand in that same moment. Galan shook his head; he of all people knew when not to attack an Amber Ranger. 

"Some other time. I shall have you," he declared. "Scorpina!" they both vanished to elsewhere in the palace. As Rocky joined Aura, he shook his head. 

"He may be right, you know," he told her. "Last I heard, she was in critical." 

Aura nodded. "Let's go. I told Galan the truth, Rocky. If she dies, I don't rest till this place is leveled: with him in it!" 

Rocky gulped; he'd never really suspected Aura was capable of holding that much hate within her. "Remind me to stay on your good side!" was all he said as they teleported to the Command Center.   
  


* * *

  


"We're back!" Rocky declared. Adam was sitting dejectedly, staring at the Viewing Globe that showed Azure still in her coma. Billy was on the floor with the twins; having some measure of hope since they'd returned so suddenly. He got to his feet and ran over to her as Aura appeared. 

"Billy. . .I'm sorry," she whispered, holding him. She wasn't really sure what had been happening; only knowing that when Galan had appeared in the park, she had loved him at once. 

"Aura," he whispered. "I love you." 

Aura nodded. "I love you, and always will," she told him. They hugged again, then Billy glanced to Adam. 

"There is something that needs to be done first," he murmured. Aura's jaw tightened suddenly as she looked at Adam. He repeated over and over one simple phrase. 

"This isn't happening." 

"That guy needs some serious sleep," Billy sighed. Aura nodded and marched over to Adam. 

"You are getting some sleep, Adam Park!" she told him harshly. Adam looked up at her, eyes widening as he saw her. "Yeah, it's me, I'm back, I'm normal, and you are getting to bed if I have to drag you there and drug you myself!" 

Adam protested, "I need to go back to Azure!" 

Aura shook her head. "Bull. You need to go to bed. And I'm going to make sure you get there," she turned to Alpha and cracked out an order in an authoritative tone they'd never heard her take before. "Sedatives. Now," it took Alpha roughly a second to administer them, with Adam being held by Aura's steel grip the whole time. The other Rangers could only stare; they had never imagined she would or could act like that. "I said you're getting some sleep," Aura said at Adam's shocked expression. "It's either sedatives, or I hit you over the head!" As he collapsed into a deep slumber, Aura picked him up. "I'm taking him back to his house, then going to see Azure." 

Billy glanced at Rocky. "Keep an eye on the twins," he suggested. Rocky nodded; then Billy turned to Aura. "I'm going with you."   
  


* * *

  


Aura paced Adam in his bed and pulled the covers all around him, making certain he was fast asleep. "He looks so peaceful," Billy said softly. Aura nodded, then stiffened as with a rush full memory of what she'd done with Galan returned to her. "Aura?" Billy asked gently. 

"Billy," she whispered. "I think I need to throw up." 

She ran quickly to the bathroom; she simply couldn't stand it a moment longer. Once she'd recovered from the retching, Billy told her, "Go see your sister. I'm going to keep an eye on Adam." 

Aura nodded to herself; she was glad someone had cleaned up the mess that the bathroom had been after Azure carried out Galan's last command. It only took her a second to wash herself up, then teleport to the hospital room where her sister lay in her coma. 

"Hey," Tommy was sitting with her; there was always at least one Ranger on guard there now, since Galan's admission that he was responsible for this. Aura nodded; she'd always felt closest to Tommy out of all the Rangers, except for Billy. The two of them had a lot in common, both being adopted, both had very personal vendettas with their enemies, and both had been placed under evil spells at times that had turned them against their foes. He'd trained her in karate during her early years on the team, and was one of the few on or off the Rangers who had never once blamed her for all that she'd done when their unwilling enemy. 

"He'll pay for this," Aura growled as she looked at her sister. Tommy nodded his agreement as Aura came to stand beside Azure. "Tommy, why do these things keep happening to us?" she asked. 

Tommy shrugged. "Who knows? I'd say it was luck, but I seriously doubt it." 

Aura sighed. "I'd say bad luck if anything," she took Azure's hand gently. "She's going to live. She has to." 

"Like you, she's a fighter. From what Billy told me, she did some serious damage to ComMonster before passing out." 

Aura smiled a little. "You know," she whispered. "She'd make an excellent Ranger." 

Tommy nodded. "That she would." 

Aura sighed deeply. "All I've got to recommend me as one is that I was born to it." _Born with powers that got me a lifelong enemy. Heck of a thing to pass on from one generation to the next._ "She'd be a lot better than I am." 

Tommy touched her arm gently to get her to look at him. "You are a great Ranger," he told her. "You were born with the right qualities. There's no one I'd rather have in a fight beside me than you. Well, you and the other Rangers." 

Aura smiled a little; Tommy had a way of getting her out of depressive moods at times. Kim was lucky to have found him; he was special. If she hadn't loved Billy so completely from the first moment they met, she might've loved Tommy. Maybe. 

Together, the White and Amber Rangers continued their vigil over the comatose Azure. They would stay there forever if that was necessary; until she awoke. That was what family was for. 

To be there. 

**The End**


	28. Resurrected Amber

**Resurrected Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

Things had been rather noisy in the lunar palace the week before, when Aura Cranston had been there under the command of Galan's love potion. That did not compare to the noise that now filled it as Galan punished Scorpina. She had kidnapped Aura's twin children, thus triggering maternal emotions that had overridden his potion's control of her. He slammed his sword down on Scorpina's shoulder, growling angrily at her. 

"Of all the idiotic things you have done in your life, this takes the cake!" he declared. He had never been so angry in his entire life! He had owned Aura, had her body and soul, then this moron had abducted her children and freed her! 

"Please, sire, forgive me!" Scorpina didn't want to fight Galan; she'd had no idea he'd be this angry over losing Aura! If she had, she would've thought up some other way to get rid of the Amber Ranger! 

"Why should I?" the hunter glared at her, ready to take her head off at the least little twitch that got on his nerves. How dare she do what she had done! This was unforgivable! 

Scorpina took a deep breath; she hadn't meant to tell him like this, but it was the only way to save her own hide. "I. . .I love you. That's why I did it." 

He stopped and stared at her. "You what?" He had never expected to hear those words directed at him except by Aura! 

"I love you. I'm. . .jealous of her," Scorpina whispered, finding a strange strength in honesty. _Is this what it means to be good? I hope not!_

"I had no idea," Galan mused. This changed . . . so much. 

Scorpina glanced down at the floor; unable to look at him. "I didn't want to tell you," she had never felt so shy, so nervous before. She didn't know what was wrong with her! 

"Why" 

She sighed a little. "Because at first, I was afraid to. Then when we got here, you saw her, and I knew I didn't have a chance as long as she lives." 

Galan nodded, as if to himself. "That is why you tried to destroy her. It's all clear now," from the first moment he'd realized his feelings for Aura, Scorpina had been acting strangely. Now he knew why. 

"I'm so jealous of her that I could kill her!" Scorpina growled, clenching her fists at the memory of how Aura and Galan had been looking at each other the previous week. Galan shook his head. 

"You will not. She is suffering enough with her soon-to-be-departed sister in the hospital," he snapped. Scorpina shook her head. 

"She can never suffer enough!" 

Galan smiled, and Scorpina felt her blood turn to ice at the expression. "Oh, but she will. But first I must find a certain spell," he turned to his spellbook, revenge on his mind for a change, and not lust. 

"What are you going to do to her, sire?" Scorpina hoped this wasn't yet another of his plans to get Aura. _Will he never give up?_

Galan smiled. "Her sister has lived too long." 

"So has she, but you don't seem to realize that," Scorpina muttered under her breath. She received the shock of her life when Galan turned to her yet again, smiling thinly. 

"I realize that I can never have her," a week filled with nights of sleepless raging had finally ended when he had come to the conclusion that Aura would never love him without magic. He also knew he didn't want that; he wanted her to love him freely. Accepting that was one of the hardest things Galan had ever done. 

But it had freed him to return to the reason he had come to Earth in the first place: the destruction of the Amber Ranger line. "Good," Scorpina stepped a bit closer to her master, smiling. Things were finally going back to the way they should be. 

"But that doesn't mean that I have forgiven you either," he warned her. "Yet." 

"Yes?" she asked hopefully. 

Galan chuckled lightly. "You never know." _After all, she says she loves me. Freely. That could be. . .interesting._

"May I help with this, Sire?" Scorpina begged, waving her stinger around. "I can poison the girl!" 

Galan shook his head. "I want her sister to think she died because of her injuries," he smiled suddenly. "Here it is! This should stop her heart!" He snapped his fingers, calling up ComMonster. "But first, to occupy the Rangers! ComMonster, go and destroy the Rangers!" 

This was so much more. . .satisfying. . .than trying to take an unwilling bride, Galan mused to himself. And so much easier, too.   
  


* * *

  


"I hope Azure's going to be all right," Aisha glanced to Kat as they walked through the park. All the Rangers were concerned for Azure; she was more than a friend, she was family. 

"Same here," Kat nodded. "Who's with her now?" 

Aisha reported, "It's Billy's turn. Aura's going to take over in about an hour." 

"Adam's probably zonked out again," Kat sighed. "He stays with her all night and most of the morning. Next to Azure, I'm worried about him the most." 

"Aura and Billy have been making sure he sleeps, but if anything happens to her, I don't know what he'll do!" Aisha nodded. 

"That's what's worrying me the most," Kat told her. They all knew Adam and Azure were almost literally inseparable; if she didn't come out of her coma. . . 

"Hello, Rangers!" they looked up to see ComMonster lurching towards them. Aisha groaned. 

"Oh, man, what does it take to get rid of this thing!" 

Kat shook her head. "Don't know, but let's trash it, Billy already replaced his communicator!" 

Aisha agreed. "Let's take this thing down!" she declared. In moments they had assembled the entire team of Rangers to deal with this thing; Adam being the only no-show. None of them wanted to deprive him of the sleep he needed so badly. 

"Let's do some damage to this thing!" Tommy declared, pointing Saba at the monster. 

"For Azure," Rocky whispered. Aura, next to him, nodded, her Ax already out and in her hands. 

"Let's do it!" This thing was sent by Galan, who'd harmed her sister. No one did that and got away with it! It was time for some payback.   
  


* * *

  


Scorpina glanced over to Galan as they stood one on each side of the comatose Azure. "I could just go on and kill her." 

Galan shook his head. "I want Aura to watch her die," it felt better than he'd imagined to hate Aura now. He'd loved her, now he hated her. That was all there was to it; and his love had given her an understanding of her. She would be the easiest kill of them all. 

"So, you don't love Aura anymore?" there was more hope than Scorpina wanted to admit to in her voice. Galan shrugged. 

"I know I can't have her, and I must accept that," he was going to surprise Scorpina with Aura's head on a plate, he decided. 

"Good," Scorpina smiled nastily. She had never been happier, she decided. Galan began to chant the spell; he'd prevented the Command Center from registering their presence easily enough, and once it was done, he laughed. 

"Next time her sister says I love you, she dies!" it was going to be so simple. Aura's love would be her sister's death! 

"Excellent!" Scorpina more than approved of this. "Then we can finally get down to destroying the Rangers!" 

Galan nodded. "Then we take a vacation. Together." 

Her eyes widened. "Vacation?" _Oh, he does care about me!_

Galan nodded. "Let us go. They should be back soon. ComMonster is probably dust by now!" He'd always pulled back ComMonster before the Rangers were able to destroy it; now he didn't care one way or the other. Once Azure was gone, the Rangers would be child's play to get rid of. Together, he and Scorpina returned to the palace. It was time to wait.   
  


* * *

  


Once ComMonster had been dealt with, the Rangers all teleported back to the hospital. Adam joined them a few moments later; he'd finally woke up. Aura stood next to her sister, feeling helpless as she hadn't in so long. "She's got to wake up soon." 

Billy nodded. "I know. The longer she stays like that. . ." he couldn't finish as Adam joined them. Aura took her sister's hand gently and sighed. 

"Come on, Azure, wake up!" she urged. There wasn't so much as a flicker of an eyebrow in response. Adam's soft voice asked, "No change?" Aura shook her head and looked up into her sister's pale face. "Wake up, girl! You don't dare die on us! We love you, Adam loves you," she sighed gently. "I love you." 

The heart monitor whined suddenly, and every Ranger turned to stare in shocked disbelief at it. "No!" Adam's eyes went wide as he paled. "No, please!" 

"Azure!" Aura could already hear the murmured 'no's from the others, could see the tears coming from Adam's eyes. "This isn't happening!" 

A warm, loving voice startled them all from their sudden sharp grief. "Aura." 

They all turned to see the Spirit of Earth standing next to the Amber Ranger. Aura seized for this one thin straw of hope. "Spirit, can you help her?" 

The Spirit took Aura's hand gently. "We must help her. Galan has done something truly evil to her." 

Hot rage boiled up within the Amber Ranger. "Galan," she literally spat the word out. She hated him, hated him with all her heart and soul! 

The Spirit turned to face her. "We have no time now, Aura, for this. Join with me." 

The Rangers all watched in shock as Aura and the Spirit joined together as the legendary and feared Guardian of the Earth. Her/their voice resonating, the Guardian stood beside Azure and placed a hand on her forehead. Adam looked up, tears in his eyes. 

"Please help her," he whispered. "She can't die." 

The Guardian touched his shoulder. "She cannot and she will not. This is not meant to be. It is not her time," an amber glow filled the room, emanating from the Guardian. Everyone there felt a renewed sense of health and life as they were bathed in the healing light of the Guardian. A moment passed, and the light faded. "She will live," the Guardian reported, "and be well." 

Adam looked up into the glorious face that was at once that of Aura and was not. "Thank you. Both of you." 

"It was our pleasure," was the last thing the Guardian said as Aura and the Spirit separated once more into themselves. Billy looked to his wife, noticing the lines of tiredness around her eyes. _That's odd, she's usually energized by joining. _

"Healing takes it out of you," Aura sighed as she sat down. The Spirit smiled a little and shook her head. 

"That is not the only reason," she chuckled a little. Aura raised an eyebrow; even she had trouble understanding the Spirit at times. She smiled a little at her physical partner's confusion. "Whatever you are paying Rocky to look after the twins, you may want to increase it." There was a definite air of surprise in the room as the Spirit lightly touched Aura's stomach. "You are expecting." With that announcement, the Spirit faded away. 

Aura turned to Billy; there was only one cloud on her personal horizon now, one she wasn't going to tell Billy of. He was just too happy as they hugged. She smiled; things were looking up, no matter what. 

"Let's hope we don't have the troubles this time that we did when the twins were born!" Aura declared. Billy nodded. 

"The last thing we need is for him to try something!" Billy had never been happier; Aura and he were together, and yet another confirmation of their love was growing within her. Let Galan try until time's end, he would never have Aura. 

"Time to wake up, please," Adam was urging Azure back to wakefulness; he knew she'd want to know what was going on now! "Oh, please, Azure, wake up!" 

Aura sighed a little. "I hope she wakes up soon. But at least we know she'll live," that was one worry removed from them all. Adam nodded and looked at her, smiling a little. 

"Thanks to you and the Spirit," he looked back at a soft pressure on his hand, to see Azure's eyes were still shut. _Was it only a reflex? Or did she really hold my hand back? Oh, Azure, come back to me, please!_

"It was only right," Aura smiled. "I'd never let my sister die if I could help it. Or any of you guys." 

"Come on, Azure, open your eyes for me." Adam kept up his urging, he wanted to see those glorious eyes of hers looking at him as they always had. 

Billy looked at Azure, noticing her eyes flickering. "It's only a matter of time now." 

Aura nodded. "She'll be fine." She knew every wound and injury Azure had suffered was totally healed; the Guardian's work was thorough. All that remained was for Azure to awaken now. 

"Adam. . .," the voice was small and quiet, but unmistakably Azure's as her eyes flickered open. He called out her name in joy, his heat thrilling to know she was awake! 

"I. . .didn't. . .," she whispered. "I'm . . .sorry." 

"Shhhh. . .it wasn't your fault," Adam told her. Azure whispered hoarsely, "I gave Aura that potion." The memories were all clear now, every one of them, from being hypnotized and hearing Galan's voice to the moment she'd slit her wrists at his command. 

Aura dropped down next to her sister. "Shh, Azure, I'm all right." As Azure smiled, Aura touched her hand gently. "You need to rest." 

"Stay with me," Azure looked at her husband. She tried to rest, with Adam's hand in her own, but found she couldn't. She'd been asleep, more or less, for just over a week, after all. Adam decided to try and get her to talk, hoping that would wear her out enough for her to relax. 

"What exactly happened, Azure?" he asked. They all listened quietly as Azure told them everything that had went on and when her recitation was over, Adam took her hand and kissed her. "Everything's okay now. Aura's safe, you're safe, and you're going to be an aunt again." Azure answered that with one of her smiles. Adam grinned. "When you're better, maybe we could make Aura an aunt?" 

Azure smiled. "What's to say you aren't already on the way to becoming one?" She glanced over to Aura, whose eyes widened in surprise. "If this whole fiasco didn't make me miscarry," Azure sighed a little. "That's why I've been so tired. I'm pregnant." 

Adam's reaction was rather classical. He fainted. Billy managed to stifle a laugh as he helped Adam recover and get back to his feet. "Uhhh. . .I could've sworn Azure said she was pregnant!" 

Aura giggled; she couldn't help it at the sight on his face. " She did!" Azure nodded and Adam looked at her. 

"Really? You're serious?" 

Azure nodded. "I found out the night this whole fiasco got started. I wanted to tell you, but wanted to wait till after the competition to do it." 

Adam hugged her as carefully as he could with her being hooked up still to a half-dozen machines. "I'm so happy!" he couldn't believe it, he was going to be a father! He wondered why the doctors hadn't told him; then realized in the condition he'd been in, he probably wouldn't have noticed! "And I love you." 

Billy touched Aura lightly on the shoulder. "Let's leave them alone," the other Rangers were already filing out of the room, chuckling softly over what was the happiest event in Adam's life to date. 

Aura nodded. "Yeah. Let's go be alone: with each other," as they headed out, Billy nodded. 

"We have some things to talk about," he told her. They both knew, without any doctor's help, that Aura was pregnant. The Spirit of Earth's word was good enough for them both. "Like how the twins are going to accept a new brother or sister." 

Aura nodded. "I think they'll like it. I hope they will anyway." 

"Rocky will!" Billy laughed; the Red Ranger totally doted on their children as much as if they were his own. They all knew that one day, he'd make a great father. 

"He's a wonderful baby-sitter. Heck, with three kids we might have to ask him to move in, just so we can get some sleep at times!" 

**The End**


	29. Changed Amber

**Changed Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

The next few months passed peacefully for the Rangers; Galan seemed to be giving them a rest. He didn't make any attempts for Aura; he barely sent any monsters down at all. Every few weeks or so he'd send his Zalics if one or more of the Rangers were on their own, but nothing serious. 

The double pregnancy of Aura and Azure was one of many reasons for the Rangers to be glad of the break. Both children seemed to be developing normally, though once again Aura was kept under constant watch by Zordon and Alpha from the Command Center. She was still a full-blooded Kalakan, and they didn't want to take any chances from Galan or her own genetics interfering with the child's gestation. 

"I wonder what the chances are of both of you becoming mothers at the same time," Tommy wondered. Aura shrugged. 

"I don't know," she told them. Azure's eyes went wide suddenly, and she touched her burgeoning stomach gently. 

"It kicked," she whispered in wonder. Aura chuckled lightly as her own growing child kicked almost in unison with it's to-be cousin within Azure. 

"I think these two know they're related!" she laughed, a soft shadow in her eyes. "I wonder if we'll ever have kids without any aliens trying to bother us." 

Adam sighed. "Why do I seriously doubt it?" He hugged Azure carefully as he did so; things were finally going to be all right, he sensed. Without knowing why, he felt confidant in their future. 

All the Rangers were gathered outside Billy and Aura's house; with Rocky playing with the twins in the front yard. Aura glanced at Kat, noticing the small smile that hovered around the Pink Ranger's lips as she watched Rocky. She smiled; she knew what that expression meant. _I wonder how long it'll take Kat to tell Rocky how she feels? Or for him to tell her? Either way, they need to talk. Those two are in love; they just haven't realized it yet. _She looked to Rocky next, and chuckled. "He's as much a kid as they are!" 

Kat nodded, smiling. "I don't now how he's going to handle four kids!" 

Rocky was enjoying himself, rolling and playing with the two toddlers. Almost a year and a half old, they were walking easily, but neither had spoken yet. Aura had been a little worried; till her mother Shaya had told her it was usual for Kalakan babies not to speak until two years of age or so. Jessica Robinson had agreed, since Aura herself hadn't spoken until she was almost two. With the twins being half-Kalakan, there was no telling just how their development would progress. Alaina looked at him suddenly, and smiled. "Am-ber," she giggled and ran off after her brother after that! 

Rocky rolled to his feet, eyes wide suddenly with shock. "Hey! She talked!" 

Billy and Aura were over there in a moment, joy filling them. "She said her first words?" Aura asked, smiling. "What did she say?" 

"It sounded like amber," Rocky reported. Aura couldn't help but smile; her parents had told her that had been her first word; though they hadn't had any idea why at the time. She wondered why Alex wasn't the one speaking, though, after all, he was going to be the Amber Ranger one day. She shrugged lightly; all would work out in time. 

"You don't think. . .?" Azure asked, looking from Aura to Billy and back again. Aura smiled. 

"Alaina, can you say it again?" Aura asked, kneeling by her daughter. Alaina reached out and touched her mother's necklace, then said clearly, "Amber." 

Aura hugged her tightly. "I've got a smart daughter!" she declared. She had never known such happiness as in that one moment, with her daughter speaking. _Is this how Mom and Dad felt when I talked? _

Azure smiled as she watched, then touched her stomach again. "I wish they'd stop that!" she sighed a little. Aura couldn't help but smile. 

"They will," she promised. "Then they start screaming from the outside!" _I will NEVER forget several four A.M. wake up call from the twins! As long as I live, I never will!_

Azure said dryly, "Thanks for that little insight." 

"Hey, you need to know," Aura laughed, then looked over to Billy. "It's almost time for their dinner." 

Billy picked up his son, and nodded. "If their dinner's delayed, they have a tendency to be very loud!" 

As Azure yawned deeply, Adam looked worriedly at her. "You okay?" he asked. Azure nodded and got up. 

"Let's go on home," she suggested. "I need to get some rest." 

As the Rangers and Azure left the little family alone, Aura called over to Rocky, "Want to give us a hand feeding these two monsters?" she asked. Rocky turned, a broad smile spreading across his face. 

"You better believe I do!" he started back towards them. There was only one thing he loved better than spending time with these two adorable twins, and she was currently heading away from the Cranston house. * * * 

Kat wandered down the street aimlessly; her thoughts on, of all people, Rocky. Yes, she'd liked Tommy when she'd first come to Angel Grove; but that had been mainly because Rita had forced her into trying to break Tommy and Kim up. Once she was able to make her own decisions on her romantic life, she'd realized she only thought of Tommy as a friend. He and Kim were just too perfect for each other to let it be any other way. 

But that did leave her without anyone in her life. She'd not really thought it mandatory to have a boyfriend, but with everyone around her just about falling in love it seemed; she did feel left out. It hadn't been so bad before Aura and Azure showed up; but when that happened, Billy and Adam had both fallen like double tons of bricks. Billy had already loved Aura, of course, but Adam had fallen in love with Azure in less than ten seconds. Tommy was happily corresponding with Kim, and even long distance their romance was going well. Aisha had a boyfriend she wasn't telling anyone about, one she wrote on a daily basis. She wouldn't even tell Kat where he lived, just that it wasn't in Angel Grove. 

Kat sighed a little; it seemed like everyone on the team was deeply in love with someone else, except her and Rocky. Was that why she'd started liking him, she wondered to herself. Because there was no one else? She shook her head a bit. No, he was just Rocky. He was funny, he was smarter than he let on, impulsive at times, he loved to have fun and joke around. He wasn't the usual type of guy she'd liked back in Australia. But what did it matter; she. . . she actually stopped in her tracks as the words burst into her mind. 

She loved him. 

_How long has that been going on? _She wondered. _How long have I loved him and just didn't know it? Things have been so hectic lately, with Aura and Azure both pregnant, Galan being so strangely quiet, I haven't been able to think for long, and especially not about him. I guess I'll never know how long. I just know that I do._

How did he feel about her was the next question, though. Did he think of her as a friend, a teammate, or something more? Or even less? She really hadn't talked to him that much, she realized. She'd been nervous in his presence and hadn't even figured out she was only really nervous around guys she liked. She had to laugh; all the signs of her love had been there for her to see, and she hadn't even noticed! 

"Well, that's going to change," she nodded sharply to herself. "I'm going to go talk to him right now!" She was about to head over to the Cranston house; he was probably done helping to feed the twins by now. She was stopped suddenly by someone bumping into her hard enough to knock her down! "Ow!" She was about to say something fairly annoyed to the person, when she saw it was Rocky. 

"Ohhh... oh, sorry, Kat," he smiled at her, and she felt a strange, half-familiar fluttering in her stomach. Oh, yes, she was in love all right. 

"It's okay," she told him as he helped her to her feet. Her entire body thrilled to his touch; why hadn't she realized it sooner? 

Rocky shook his head. "My fault; I should've been looking where I was going." 

"So should I," Kat smiled at him, hoping the right moment would present itself for her to tell him how she felt. 

"I was thinking about the kids," he told her. He was never happier than when he was taking care of kids; except when he was near her. His heart was going a mile a minute; hoping that just maybe she cared about him, the tiniest little bit. Rocky couldn't remember when he didn't love Kat; it seemed he had from that very first second he'd seen her. Things just didn't seem to work out, though; especially since when Kim left Kat seemed to be closer to Tommy. But that hadn't worked out either, not with Tommy still one hundred percent in love with Kim, and Kim in love with Tommy. 

Kat nodded, remembering where she'd come from before starting her aimless walks. "Same here; I just came from Azure and Adam's. They asked me to be the godmother for their child." 

Rocky smiled; Kat was just so beautiful! He took a deep breath and decided just to plunge straight ahead. "Kat, since we bumped into each other, want to go for a walk?" 

_He asked me to walk! At least he's not revolted by me! _"I'd love to," she sighed happily. Things were already going well! As they walked, she found herself at a total loss for words. _This can't go on. Something's got to give, and it's going to be me. I love him._

Without so much as a hint, she leaned over and kissed Rocky on the lips. He seemed frozen in shock for a second, then returned it with all his heart. They stood together, arms around each other and kissing, for what felt like forever. Finally, they stood apart. 

"H. . .how long have you wanted to do that?" Rocky wondered. "As long as me?" 

Kat's eyes widened. "How long have you wanted to do that?" 

He blushed a bit. "Since I first saw you," he said shyly. Kat smiled and held his hand as he squeezed it. 

"Almost as long as I've wanted it then," she told him. 

"I wonder why we waited," he smiled as they started to walk again, hand in hand this time, heart in heart forever. 

Kat shrugged. "I don't know. But then again, with everything that's happened in the past few months, it's been kind of hard to get you alone!" _I wasn't even sure until today how I felt. But I'm glad things finally got themselves straightened out with us. At last._

"Glad it happened. . .finally!" Rocky smiled and they kissed again. Things had never felt more right than they did at this perfect moment. Nothing Galan or anyone else could do would change that. Like Adam and Azure, Aura and Billy, Tommy and Kim, Aisha and whoever her mysterious boyfriend was, they would be together, forever. Both of them knew it already. It was meant to be. * * * 

"I don't believe this!" Galan had been saying that repeatedly for the past eight months. "She's pregnant!" 

"How disgusting!" Scorpina growled. Galan hadn't changed much towards her, except to be a trifle more tender and less apt to scream for no reason. He had been plotting something, she knew, ever since Azure had awakened from her coma. She just didn't know what it was. Now, she sensed she was going to find out as he turned to her. 

"That may be my child!" he declared. Scorpina felt sick to her stomach at that; to think of Aura Cranston, the Amber Ranger, having Galan's child, was nauseating! He should associate with someone evil to bear offspring! 

"What do you intend to do about it?" she asked, hoping she didn't sound as disgusted as she was. She still tread carefully around him; not daring to press their semi-romance any farther than it was. 

Galan shrugged casually. "After it is born, I am going to raise it as my own." _My child, my son or daughter. Perhaps I no longer want Aura as my bride, but if that is my child within her, I will have it! _

"Perhaps you should find out of it is yours first," Scorpina tried to be logical. Galan shook his head, now that he thought about it, the timing was right. She had been with him under his love potion's power eight months previously. 

"It has to be! There is no other way; it can't be his!" he declared. Scorpina sighed. 

"Of course, sire," she agreed. There was simply no other way to handle Galan than just to agree with him. He would permit nothing else but that. He smiled nastily as he glanced to Earth to see Aura and Azure quietly walking together in the park in the glow of evening. 

"Now to make the Rangers' lives a living nightmare!" 

Scorpina giggled evilly. "They're one Ranger down," since Aura was on maternity leave yet again. "They're easy prey!" 

Galan raised his sword and blasted a thorny rosebush with his magic, creating a monster. "Thornator!" he declared. "Go and attack those two sisters!" The Rangers' time of peace was over and done with! * * * 

"So Kat said she'd be the godmother," Azure told Aura as they walked along. Aura liked these evening walks with her sister; it kept them connected on many levels. They'd first begun them back in New York, a time of their lives that really seemed more like a dream now. Things in Angel Grove seemed so much more real than anywhere else, as if every little decision made here mattered. Partially Aura believed that had to do with the fact she knew herself better now than she ever had before. But there still seemed to be something lacking in her life. Something she couldn't explain. 

_I have everything. My career's going well, I have Billy, the twins, I'm defending the planet as my family has for so long, Galan hasn't bothered us in months. What is missing? What's wrong that I feel so. . . I don't know. I can't explain it. There is just something wrong. _"I'm glad," Aura smiled at her sister. "I can't believe we're both pregnant. This is almost a miracle, you know!" _A real miracle would be Galan leaving us alone forever! _

Azure nodded, as Aura giggled suddenly. "The boys are going to be going insane when it comes time for these kids to be born!" 

"You know, I actually had to sneak out of the house. Adam is hovering over me like a mother hen!" 

Aura chuckled to herself. "Billy's keeping an eye on the twins. He knows I don't like being disturbed on my walks with you." 

A disturbance chose that very moment to show up. "Hey! Looks like I get to poke you two around a bit!" Thornator appeared a few feet away from them. Aura groaned; this had to happen when she was too far along to morph! 

"Rangers, trouble in the park, there's a monster!" she shouted into her communicator. 

Azure rolled her eyes as the monster advanced on her and her sister. "Does he now have a personal death wish for us?" she wondered. A second later, the Rangers had all arrived. Adam started to herd the two girls over to safety and as he did so, asked, "When did you leave the apartment?" 

Azure chuckled. "While you were in the bathroom!" 

"Don't try and keep her protected, Adam. She gets upset over that," Aura reminded him. She sighed a little, looking towards where the other Rangers had engaged Thornator in battle. "I wish I could help." 

"I'll try not to," Adam smiled a little, then looked to Azure. "Just to me a favor, and stay here!" he was rewarded by a stuck out tongue as he headed over to join the others. 

Aura's eyes kept on the others. "This is the only part of being pregnant I hate," she sighed. _I want to help them, but I can't! _

"Besides being as big as a house?" Azure grumbled a bit, shifting to a more comfortable position as they watched the Rangers encircle the monster and take it on one at a time, while Zalics came down to help the creature out. 

"I can live with that," Aura sighed again. "It's not being able to help my friends I hate. Besides, I still remember what happened last time." _Being too big to fight Rito and Eric when they kidnapped me while I was pregnant with the twins. Well, that had it's good point. We got rid of Eric that day. He's been growing up so well on New Kalakan. So much better this time around. _

Azure shivered, she still felt fear of Eric. "Don't remind me." * * * 

"Hey, did I miss anything?" Adam asked as he dashed into the battle. The Rangers were involved with Zalics and the monster both, and Rocky was barely able to spare the time to shake his head. 

"Besides this thing ruining my date!" he snarled as he slammed one Zalic to the ground, only to get jumped by two others. Kat piped up from near him, "Our date!" while kicking Thornator in the 'patented Aura maneuver', causing the creature to wince in agony. 

Tommy raised an eyebrow under his helmet. "You guys are going to have to explain that little bit later," he grinned. "But for now, let's take this thing down!" 

A second later, Thornator was history. Galan wasn't as apt as Rita or Zedd to expand his creatures into immensity, since until now he'd used them mainly as distractions for the Rangers while he sent Zalics or came himself to try and take Aura. But these days, his monster attacks seemed to be mainly to remind the Rangers he existed in the first place. As they demorphed, Billy glanced quickly over to Aura and Azure, relieved that they seemed to be unharmed. Once again, one of Galan's monsters had just been. . .a monster. Just something to fight. It hadn't been a distraction or anything to try and get rid of Billy himself; it had fought the Rangers equally. 

_What is with him? It's almost like he. . .doesn't love Aura. Not that I'm complaining; if he'd just pack up and leave I'd be ecstatic for a month. For a year. I guess he wants to destroy her again. I'm not sure which is worse; him wanting Aura or him wanting to destroy her. Either way, he's not going to do it. I won't allow it._

The Rangers headed back to Aura and Azure, to see Aura looking at her sister worriedly. Azure had a strange expression on her face, and her hand was on her enlarged stomach. As they came closer, Aura was saying quietly, "Azure?" 

"Azure?" Adam's eyes were wide and full of worry as he drew nearer his wife. The two of them were almost eight months pregnant each; he hoped this didn't mean what it might. . . 

"I think it's time!" she said, looking at him. "We'd better get to the hospital!" * * * 

The Rangers were in the hospital waiting room; waiting patiently for any word on Azure. Adam was with her; everyone else paced and waited and worried. Rocky looked over at Aura at one point. 

"Did it take this long with the twins?" he wondered; they'd already been waiting for half an hour. Aura raised an eyebrow gently. 

"My case is a little different, Rocky," she subtly reminded him of the difference in species between her and her sister. Rocky blushed in remembrance; Aura looked and acted so human it was hard to remember she wasn't. "I hope things are all right," she said softly. 

Tommy stopped, making sure not to get in the way of the others as they continued their endless pacing. "Azure wasn't due for another two weeks, was she?" he asked. Billy nodded. 

"I'm worried," he stated. They all were; he was just the first one who'd actually said anything about it. Kat shook her head from across the room. 

"It's natural for someone to be early; she's going to be just fine," she was the voice of hope in the group this time it seemed. Aura nodded her agreement. 

"I hope so." 

Kat came over to sit beside Aura. "She made it through that last fiasco; she can make it through her first labor." 

Aura had to grin. "Being tough runs in the family," she reminded them all. As far as Aura was concerned, Azure was strength personified. * * * 

Azure waited patiently for the next contraction, only to wait in vain. The doctor was doing strange things at the other end of the delivery room, then finally looked over at her. "I think it could be false labor," he reported. Azure frowned. 

"False?" 

The doctor nodded. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Park, your child isn't quite ready to be born yet." 

Azure frowned again; this was worrying her. "Is everything all right?" she wanted to know. Adam, beside her with his hand in hers, said nothing, but his eyes were as full of worry as her own heart was. She had been so concerned for him in that battle; she wasn't usually that close to a fight. 

The doctor shook his head. "Nothing's wrong; these things happen," was his diagnosis. "We're going to keep you overnight though, just in case." 

Azure sighed a little, as Adam squeezed her hand. "Guess we'll just have to wait a little longer for the little tyke to be born." * * * 

Galan tapped his fingers against the hilt of his sword in thought. "So, the Amber Ranger's sister had a false labor. Perhaps I can hope there is something wrong with either her or that child!" _The only child I want alive and unharmed is MINE. The human's offspring can perish in flames for all I care!_

"We can always hope," Scorpina said sagely. She was growing more and more attractive to him with each passing day; indeed, she was bordering on beautiful and desirable. 

"If I could just get close enough," Galan laughed. "There would be something wrong!" 

Scorpina wondered, "Just what would you do?" 

He looked at her harshly. "Make it so that brat is never born! She foiled my plans when she recovered from that coma!" His plan had been so perfect, until Aura and the Spirit of Earth had saved her! 

"She wouldn't have without her blasted sister's help!" Scorpina reminded him. Galan nodded; he was perfectly aware of that. 

"I know. But I still want to get the sister for even waking up!" _I could've had some very sweet revenge on Aura by killing her sister. If only she still couldn't access her powers. . .but that spell requires another year before I'll be able to do that again, and that's with no spellcasting of any kind! It is so much easier to just kill. _

Scorpina's suggestion was somewhat more violent than what he'd usually done. "Blow up the hospital." 

"Too easy," he turned down the idea. He wanted something that was a bit of a challenge, but not too much of one. Nothing the Rangers could prevent, of course. But something that would show off his flair and style. 

Scorpina's next idea held a bit more merit. "I can sneak in wearing a disguise and kill her." 

"Not a bad idea," he decided. "But there's no need for a disguise; just go there and take care of matters with that stinger of yours. The Spirit of Earth can't heal her this time; she won't have the time Aura did when you stung her!" 

Scorpina stood to attention. "All I await is your command!" she declared proudly. She was finally going to have the chance to get rid of Azure Robinson Park! And once that was over with, it was Aura's turn! 

Galan looked down to Earth and saw Azure was alone in her hospital room; Adam was going to tell the others what was going on apparently. "Go now!" he ordered. Scorpina vanished before the echo of his words faded away. 

"If I cannot have you, Aura, then I will take away all that you treasure," he whispered. "And will crush the very life from you as I did twenty of your ancestors." 

The Amber Ranger Hunter never failed to take his prey. * * * 

Scorpina teleported into the hospital room and stared hungrily down at Azure as the pregnant woman half-dozed. The false labor had been somewhat rough on her, and it was late in the evening as it was. She raised her stinger sword over her head and began to bring it down, whispering, "This is for staying alive!" 

"Hey!" a sharp voice called out suddenly, and Scorpina looked up to see Aura standing in the doorway, eyes bright with rage. At her sister's cry, Azure woke up, stiffening with terror as she saw Scorpina standing over her. 

"Stay out of this, Amber Ranger, this is personal!" Scorpina advised. Aura shook her head. 

"You touch my sister, it gets personal," Aura snarled, flexing her fingers ominously. Scorpina laughed. 

"Come any closer, and it will. I'll kill your sister's child . . . before it even has a chance to live!" 

"No," Azure whispered. "Not my child. Anything. But let my child live." 

Aura wasn't having any of this, though. "Step towards Azure and find out why they tell you not to mess with the Guardian of the Earth," Aura could feel the Spirit of Earth's presence near her, it would take no time at all for the Eternal Mother to protect her children. 

"Aura," Azure whispered, shaking her head. She knew Aura would do anything to protect her, but she would do anything to protect that tiny life within her. 

"I won't let her hurt you, Azure," Aura promised. She closed her eyes, about to join with the Spirit of the Earth, when Scorpina's cold voice stopped her. 

"The child is going to die." 

Aura was about to continue the process, when Adam stepped up next to her. "Hey!" he snapped out, breaking Aura's concentration. "What's going on here?" 

"Aura," Azure whispered again. "Adam, don't. . . " 

Adam ignored his wife, his blazing eyes on her threatener. "Scorpina, get out of here!" 

"I can't let her hurt this child," Azure whispered. "Please understand." 

"Scorpina, if you harm Azure or her child, I will spend the rest of eternity hunting you down if I have to!" Aura swore. It took only a moment of concentration to call the Spirit into her, but with Scorpina right next to Azure, she couldn't spare that moment. 

"Not if I get there first," Adam agreed. One thing Aura and Adam had always agreed on was that Azure needed to be safe. Each of them did it in their own separate ways, but they both kept her from harm as best they could. 

Scorpina laughed. "Like you could catch me!" she glanced down at Azure, a chill smile on her features. "A pity." 

"Don't, please," Azure begged. All she wanted was for the child to live, she didn't care about her own life at this moment. She just wanted that child to live, to grow and thrive. 

Aura's voice was full of complete confidence. "I can catch you, Scorpina," Aura was so totally focused on Scorpina she didn't notice Adam whispering into his communicator; Scorpina was so oriented on Azure she also failed to notice it. "So leave her alone, or die!" 

Scorpina laughed; this was going to be so much fun! She stepped back a bit to get enough room for her swing, then brought the stinger down far too fast for either Ranger to morph or call for help. Azure shrank away, heart bleeding in sorrow at what she believed was the loss of her child. 

Scorpina's stinger bounced off a forcefield that had been generated around Azure and her face reflected total shock and surprise. Adam laughed at that; she looked so foolish. "Thanks to Alpha, you will leave her alone!" 

Aura smiled. "Now leave!" 

Scorpina growled to herself; she would have one bit of satisfaction if nothing else. Moving even faster than she had before, she leaped in front of Aura and knocked her into the wall with all her strength, causing Aura to strike her head. A moment later, she was gone. 

Adam rushed over to her as she slid against the wall and down to the floor. "You okay?" he asked. Azure looked over, concerned, at her sister, who was a trifle dazed it seemed. 

Aura nodded. "Yeah, I'm. . .," she stiffened suddenly. "Uhhhh. . . ." a strange expression crossed her face; one that reminded him of how she'd looked. . . 

"I'm getting a doctor!" Adam was out of the room in a second, and came back dragging a doctor. He took one look at Aura, and had a pair of orderlies in there at once to wheel her into the delivery room. 

Billy joined Aura in there a few moments later, and was greeted by a glare. "This is all your fault, Billy!" she told him. Billy had been warned by his own father that women tended to be like this during childbirth; but Aura hadn't said a word during her labor with the twins. His eyes went wide for a second as she grabbed his hand. 

"What?" 

"I would be pregnant if it weren't for you!" she retorted. She absolutely did not care if she made sense or not; all she wanted was to give birth! 

"Oh, you had something to do with it, too!" Billy teased her gently. Aura shot him a dagger-filled glance. 

"Oh, no, this is all your fault!" 

"I got the head!" the doctor cried. Aura pushed again, a moment of pain, then a healthy cry sounded. "It's a girl!" the doctor told them. Aura sighed and relaxed once the afterbirth was expunged from her, then everything was forgotten as the doctor brought the new life up to her. "Want to hold your daughter?" 

"Yeah," Aura sighed as the baby was slipped into her arms. "Oh, she's such a beautiful child!" 

A nurse poked her head carefully into the room and caught the doctor's attention. "You've got another delivery: room 321." 

Aura looked over at Billy. "That's Azure's room!" her eyes went wide. 

Billy nodded. "Let's hope it's not another false labor," he didn't think Azure or Adam could take a false alarm one more time in the same day. Aura looked down at their newest child and smiled. 

"Have you thought of a name?" she asked. She'd really been worrying too much over Galan trying something to think up one. Billy smiled. 

"What about Shaya Jessica Cranston?" 

Aura smiled. "I love it," _Two of my mothers immortalized in my daughter. _"Thank you, Billy." 

"Hello, little Shaya," Billy said as he gently kissed his youngest child on the forehead. The little girl looked up at him, yawned, then fell asleep in her mother's arms. Aura smiled down at her. 

"I hope you take after your father," she whispered softly. "With all his brains." 

"Hey, their mother isn't so bad!" Billy kissed Aura; he could hardly believe their third child had been born already. Aura chuckled lightly. 

"But I don't want to condemn them to being chased after by evil aliens!" she told him. Billy sighed a bit. 

"Let's just hope Galan leaves; and a lot quicker than Rita and Zedd did!" 

Aura agreed; she was sick and tired of having him hovering over her life all the time. She'd been attacked twelve different times during her pregnancy; luckily she'd either been able to either fight the Zalics or monster herself; or to call for help in time. It seemed he'd given up on having her, and was reverting to just trying to kill her. She found that more comforting in many ways. "I can't believe what he was trying to have Scorpina do!" 

"What was that?" Adam hadn't had time to tell Billy anything other than Aura was in labor when he'd ran out into the waiting room. As Aura explained, he found himself in the sudden mood for murder. If Azure hadn't been all right, Aura sensed her husband would've been heading for the moon at that moment. 

And she would've been right next to him. * * * 

"Oh, she's beautiful," Azure looked at the baby girl in her arms. Her second labor had been real, quick, and relatively painless, resulting in the baby she and Adam were now gazing adoringly at. Adam smiled. 

"She looks just like her mother," the new father whispered softly. Azure smiled and touched her daughter's forehead gently. 

"She's got her dad's hair, though," she noted. The little girl had been born with a full head of dark hair, the mirror minuscule image of Adam's. 

"So I see," Adam smiled; he hadn't been this happy in his entire life. Nothing but joy and love filled the little family. 

"Hello, little Katia," Azure named her daughter. Adam nodded his approval. 

"That's a beautiful name," he told her. Azure's smile faded suddenly as she remembered something. 

"How close we came to not having her," she murmured, leaning closer to her child. "If Alpha hadn't put that forcefield up, I don't know what would've happened." _Could Aura have called the Spirit in time? Would the Guardian have been quick enough to save us? To save my child if nothing else? I guess we'll never know._

Adam nodded. "I know. We owe him." 

"That we do," their quiet moment was mildly interrupted as Kat and Rocky entered the room hand in hand. 

"Hey there," Rocky smiled at them. "Can we sneak a peak at the new baby?" 

Adam smiled and waved them in as Azure said, "Would the godparents like to see their godchild?" They came closer and as they oohed and ahhed over her, Azure told them, "Say hello to Katia Ann Park." 

"She's beautiful!" Kat gushed. "She looks like her mother, but with Adam's hair." 

"We almost didn't have her," Adam told them quickly and quietly what had happened with Scorpina. Rocky shivered. 

"Man, talk about cutting it close!" he whispered. Adam nodded. 

"We owe Alpha, and we'll pay him back, somehow." 

Rocky agreed. "It's a good thing Zordon told him to keep a close eye on you, Azure, after what Galan tried the last time." 

Azure and Adam both raised their eyebrows in surprise. "He what?" Azure asked. Rocky explained. 

"He was worried that Galan might try something, so he told Alpha to keep a close lock on you, at all times." 

Azure smiled. "I can't believe that." _They all worry over me so much. That feels so good. I have the greatest family in the world. I love them all so much._

"We worry about you," Kat told her. Azure felt a warm upwelling of love in her heart. 

"It's nice to know," she sighed gently, then noticed that the two of them were holding hands! She'd never seen that before. "Um, is there something we should know about?" 

Kat and Rocky exchanged blushing glances. "Ummmm. . .." 

"Rocky, what are you two up to?" Adam grinned; he was glad to see his oldest friend finally romantically linked with someone. 

Rocky looked over at Kat. "I think we started dating," he revealed. Azure couldn't help but laugh. 

"It's about time!" 

Adam nodded sharply. "I thought I was going to have to smash your heads together!" 

A nurse entered the room just then. "Is anyone up to a little visit?" Adam glanced to Azure. 

"Feel like going to see your new niece?" he asked. He didn't even have to, really, he knew what the answer was going to be. In moments he and Azure, along with Rocky and Kat, were in Aura's room, where the other Rangers had gathered. 

"Hi, Azure!" Aura waved brightly. "Is that my niece?" 

Azure nodded. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet Katia Ann Park." 

Aura smiled at the little baby. "She's beautiful," she held out her own child at that point. "This is Shaya Jessica Cranston, everyone." 

"Oh, she's got Billy's eyes!" Azure exclaimed as she looked into her niece's tiny face. Aura smiled as she nodded. 

"I hope she has Billy's brains," she sighed lightly, thinking of the twins waiting at home. "I hope they all do!" 

Billy leaned over to kiss her. "Their mother has a great brain, too!" 

The Rangers all filed out quietly to give the family time to themselves. The newest members of the Cranston and Park families slept in their mothers' arms quietly. Aura and Azure looked long at each other. 

"I hope we can give them the greatest gift of all one day," Aura spoke gently to avoid waking the babies. Azure nodded; she knew exactly what Aura meant. 

"A peaceful world. One without anyone trying to take it over." 

"One day," Billy whispered, and Adam agreed. "One day, this world will be at peace." 

Aura looked out the window, and couldn't help but feel a twinge of worry. Galan was still on the moon; and Rita and Zedd were still around somewhere. Who knew what other forces of evil were lurking, just waiting for the chance to attack and conquer Earth? 

_Whatever is out there, it'll have to face me and the other Rangers. We're here to protect Earth, no matter what. That's why we exist. That's why I live. That's why we all live. _

_To defend. Forever._

**The End**


	30. Born Amber

**Born Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

Galan watched Aura showing off Shaya, her week-old daughter to her family. He just knew that this was his child! There was no way it could be Billy's; he could feel it. He glanced over at Scorpina, who was watching him. "It is time to collect my daughter," he decided. 

Scorpina nodded. "I'll go at once, sire! Do you wish me to kill Aura while I'm there?" 

The Amber Ranger Hunter shook his head; this was it, he sensed. This day would the long war between himself and the Alanatrius line come to an end at last. "I want her to come here. Then you may do as you wish." 

Scorpina smiled evilly; he liked that about her. "I'll be back soon, my lord, with your offspring!" 

"Hurry back," he told her, kissing her lightly on the cheek. Scorpina's eyes widened, she smiled, then teleported down to Earth. Galan laughed gently; Scorpina was truly his perfect mate.   
  


* * *

  


The entire family was gathered together at the Robinsons' house: Frank and Jessica Robinson; Aura, Billy, Alex, Alaina, and Shaya Cranston, Adam, Azure, and Katia Park, and Shaya Shaldar, David, and Samuel. Azure watched as Sam played with his niece and nephew, then glanced at Adam, smiling. 

"You know, five years ago I would've never believed any of this would be happening!" Adam told her. Things had changed so much in the past few years. Azure nodded her agreement, and Aura giggled. 

"Five years ago, I would have never dreamed I'm a Power Ranger, a space alien, or technically over fifty thousand years old!" she smiled. Things had happened so fast, her head still swam at times with dizziness at everything that had went on. 

The elder Shaya smiled at her daughter. "I never thought I'd see the day that I'd have three adorable grandchildren!" she hugged Aura and kissed her on the forehead. "I am so proud of you! If only Neras could've seen this," she still sighed as she thought of her first love. She loved David so much, but Neras still owned a part of her heart. 

Aura nodded. "He knew of the twins at least," she reminded her mother. Shaya had told her once Aura had left Kalakan in the past, she had secretly put a spell on Zedd so he wouldn't remember her presence in that time until Aura herself had returned to the twentieth Earth-century. The spell would've faded already, but apparently Zedd didn't care anymore. None of them minded a bit already. Aura smiled as she remembered the glorious nine months she'd spent in the past. "Now I know how you knew to be ready for me. I told you to be!" she couldn't help but smile at how things had organized themselves somehow. 

Shaya smiled and hugged her daughter again; she'd regretted not being able to tell Aura of the torture she would suffer at Zedd's hands, which she'd known was coming from the moment she'd met her daughter on Kalakan just before it's destruction. 

Adam glanced upstairs; Katia and Shaya were fast asleep up there. He'd heard something, he knew it. Not wanting to worry Azure, he simply said, "I'm going to go check on Katia." Azure smiled at him as he headed up the stairs. He hummed a little to himself as he entered the room, but that stopped when he saw Scorpina leaning over Katia's cradle. 

"Time to come home, girl!" she snarled. Adam yelled sharply when he saw this. 

"Get away from her!" Scorpina turned towards him, lashing out and throwing him into the wall almost as soon as he walked into the room. He struck his head hard, blacking out as he did so, murmuring, "Let go of. . .," Scorpina laughed, grabbed both him and little Katia, and vanished on her way back to the moon.   
  


* * *

  


Galan chuckled as Scorpina appeared with the baby and the Black Ranger slung over one shoulder. "Ah, I see we have some unexpected company!" _A hostage; how perfect! Scorpina truly is wise._

"He tried to stop me," she reported. "But I stopped him instead!" Galan snapped his fingers to call his Zalics. 

"Chain him up," he ordered. As they did so, he took the little girl from Scorpina and looked at her, smiling. "She has my eyes," he murmured, looking into those brown orbs. 

"You're a handsome father, sire," Scorpina complimented him. Galan decided it was time to give her a little surprise. 

"Thank you," he nodded. "One day you will make a beautiful mother: to our children!" Scorpina's eyes went wide in shock. "I think I have been blind. You are beautiful," as she stood still, Galan kissed her deeply and passionately, far more so than he ever had Aura. And as Aura had not, she returned it with all her dark and twisted soul. After a few minutes, Galan looked over at Adam, chained against the wall but still unconscious. "This is too perfect! I shall have my revenge on both of them!" _On the Amber Ranger and her sister both; how wonderful! _

Scorpina smiled nastily. "I want to kill Aura myself," she requested. She knew he was the Amber Ranger Hunter; but made bold to ask anyway. Perhaps he would let her. . . 

Galan nodded absently. "You shall," it was an engagement gift to her. "I have two that I want to destroy personally!" 

Scorpina giggled with glee. "Shall I send them a message so they know who has the Ranger and the child?" 

He shook his head. "Not just yet. Let them suffer!" _This kill will be my sweetest ever!_   
  


* * *

  


Aura got to her feet carefully. "I'm going to go feed little Shaya; I'll see if Katia needs anything while I'm there, Azure." 

Azure nodded. "Thanks, and tell Adam to hurry up," they hadn't heard anything from him in a few minutes, and Azure was trying hard not to worry. Aura nodded as she headed upstairs, humming the tune her mother had hummed to her when she was a baby. When she entered the baby's room, she stopped in her tracks. 

Katia was gone. There was no sign of Adam. There was blood on the wall. A roar of pure rage erupted from her throat as she realized what had to have happened. In a sudden burst of insight, she also realized what was supposed to have happened: and why. _Oh, why didn't I tell Billy? We could've have Zordon and Alpha watching them, just to be safe! This is my fault!_

Azure and everyone else suddenly surged around Aura, Billy taking her shoulders gently as they saw what was going on. Azure's eyes widened. "Where is Katia? Where is Adam?" she demanded. Aura looked around; she just couldn't let everyone know just yet. 

"I don't know," she lied. "But I'd bet a lot that Galan has something to do with this." _He has everything to do with this!_

Azure crumpled to the ground. "What did I do to deserve this? Why is he after my child?" 

Aura couldn't tell her sister the truth; there was no way she could face her with it right now. She quickly checked over Shaya, then looked to the others. "He's gone way too far this time, and he will pay for it, no matter what the cost." Everything in her told her that was the truth. Tommy looked over from where he was trying to comfort Azure. 

"That he will!" 

Aura looked to her husband. "Think you can find them from the Command Center?" Billy nodded. 

"I should be able to," he told her. Aura closed her eyes, gathering her strength for what she knew was going to come soon. 

"Then let's go start looking for them." 

They were all at the Command Center just a few moments later. "I want my family back!" Azure cried repeatedly into Tommy's shoulder. Tommy was doing his best to comfort her as everyone else looked endlessly for Adam and Katia. Rocky glanced up from his pacing. 

"What is he up to?" he wondered. Aura still couldn't admit to it, there was still too much guilt and pain in her heart over it. 

"I think he'll let us know when he's ready," she hedged lightly. "But I want to find them first." 

Billy nodded; he wanted to find his niece and best friend more than any of them except Azure. He hit the console in frustration. "Man, nothing!" 

"They've got to be somewhere!" Kat declared. Billy nodded, growling lightly under his breath as yet another scan failed. 

"Galan's got some kind of forcefield blocking our scans, I'm not sure if they're on the moon or in some other dimension!" 

Aura paced back and forth endlessly, looking angrier with every passing moment. "I think he's trying for revenge, on Azure for living through his attempt to have her kill herself." 

Suddenly the Viewing Globe crackled to life. "Hello, Rangers!" Scorpina laughed at them all. "I just thought you'd like to know that I have the littlest brat you've produced, and the Black Ranger! And all I want: is Aura's surrender to me!" 

"What?" Aura stared, not really surprised, though. "Can't you bad guys ever think of anything but that?" 

Scorpina frowned coldly. "You and me, Amber Ranger, or the child is dead!" 

Aura paled. "Where and when?" she asked quietly. She knew she had no choice in this; no more than she'd ever had where her family was concerned. 

Scorpina nodded gladly. "In an hour, be in the park. I'll teleport you to the location of our battle," she faded from the Globe with her last words. Aura looked at the others, determination filling her eyes. 

"I'm going to bring them all back, somehow," she declared. Aura looked over at Azure, whose tears flowed even harder now with this. 

"You can't," she whispered, torn between wanting to keep her sister safe and wanting her husband and daughter back. Aura came over beside her and touched her hand. 

"Azure, I've faced worse things than this," she reminded her. "I can and will bring them back." 

Azure smiled a little, then bent her head in tears once more. She was worn out however, and soon had fallen asleep. Aura looked to Billy. "Let's take her home." 

_I think it's time I told Billy. He has to know. I can't keep this from him anymore. _They teleported to the Parks' apartment.   
  


* * *

  


Billy carefully put Azure into her bed and covered her with a blanket. "This seems all too familiar," he whispered, remembering countless times the four of them had taken care of each other like this. Aura sighed, and he glanced over to her. 

"What is it?" he was amazed to see Aura wasn't looking at him. She'd never acted like this before, never. 

"Galan wasn't trying to take Katia," Aura whispered, her fists clenched and eyes closed in shame. "He wanted Shaya." 

Billy's eyes widened. "What? What makes you certain?" 

He had to strain to hear what she said next. "Because I think he thinks Shaya is his daughter," she reported. Billy's eyes widened in shock and anger. 

"Why would he think Shaya is his daughter?" he asked, not managing to keep all the irritation out of his voice. Aura's voice was choked with tears. 

"Because of what happened while I was with him, under that love potion," she told him, hardly able to even stay in the room with the shame that filled her. Billy came over to her. 

"What did you do?" he asked softly. Aura still couldn't look at him as she quietly told him what had happened. He stared at her for a second, then turned and stared out the window silently. Aura looked at his back, sensing his pain and grief, and knowing it dwarfed her own. She glanced at her watch, and saw she had only a few minutes to get to the park for her surrender. Without another word, she headed out the door. 

Billy watched her, tears rolling down his cheeks. _I'm going to kill Galan. How could he do that to her? How could he? Be strong, Aura, and bring Adam and Katia back. We need to talk so much. _"I love you, Aura."   
  


* * *

  


Aura stood under the special tree in the park, her heart pounding. Though she might have lost Billy, she felt cleaner now, for having told him what she'd carried in her heart for nine months. Scorpina appeared suddenly before her. 

"Are you ready?" she asked sharply. Aura nodded, still too upset to say anything else. Scorpina took her arm harshly. "Let's go. Time to get this over with: at last."   
  


* * *

  


Billy teleported back to the Command Center with little Shaya in his arms. The others had kept up searching while he and Aura were gone; now he told them what she had told him. Kat couldn't believe her ears. 

"Woah, and she never said anything! To any of us!" she would've expected Aura to say something to Azure maybe, but she'd kept that within her all that time. Billy shook his head. 

"You know how Aura is," he sighed. She was so proud sometimes. "Just don' tell Azure, not until we get them all out of there!" 

Rocky nodded, and Aisha asked gently, "How do you feel about it, Billy? About what Aura did with Galan?" 

Billy sighed, not looking at them. He couldn't; he didn't want them to see the tears that poured down his cheeks. "How am I supposed to feel? I'm confused. Part of me knows she didn't have much control over what happened to her, but part of me is very upset over it!" 

Tommy nodded; he'd be the same way if the same thing happened to him. "I see what you mean," he glanced down at his watch. "Aura must've went by now." 

They were all silent for a time. "Billy, when Aura comes back, you two might want to do some serious talking," Kat said. Billy nodded. 

_When she comes back. Not if. Thank you, Kat, for that hope. She will come back, and Galan will regret what he has done to her. This ends today, once and for all._   
  


* * *

  


"Welcome, Amber Ranger!" Galan smiled nastily at his mortal enemy; whom he'd once thought to possess. He knew better now. "You're just in time!" he pulled back a curtain to expose Adam, chained to the wall and unconscious. "Pity he's not up to greet you!" 

Aura glared at Galan and Scorpina both. "Release Adam and Katia now!" 

"Katia?" Galan was a bit confused; she'd named their daughter Shaya! Aura smiled viscously. 

"You took the wrong baby, idiot! That's Katia Park; Adam and Azure's daughter: my niece! Of course, any baby would be wrong. Neither of them are yours!" She'd made certain of that months ago. Galan looked at the child, then smiled. 

"This is better than expected!" _So what if she isn't mine? I can use this to get rid of all those who have been thorns in my side all these months!_

Aura growled suddenly. "Let them go! You said you would if I came here!" 

Galan looked casually at Scorpina. "Did we ever say that?" Scorpina smiled viscously in return. 

"Why, no, we didn't!" Aura was incoherent with anger, as Galan laughed at her foolishness. She'd jumped to a conclusion; too worried over her niece and brother-in-law to think straight. 

"This shall be settled in the ring!" Galan declared, laughing a little. This was going to be wonderful! 

"Release them, or this castle gets turned into rubble!" she declared. She'd more than had it with Galan and Scorpina. This had gone on far too long! 

"Here is the deal. You win, I release Adam and his brat. You lose, I get your sister, for eternity!" Galan told her. Aura raised an eyebrow. 

"And if I refuse to fight altogether?" 

Galan smiled evilly. "I just take what I want." _As I took you, Aura. That was QUITE enjoyable, even if nothing came of it!_

Aura seized him quickly by the throat. "You've killed members of my family for thousands of years. One way or the other, you will be stopped!" 

Galan broke her grip and stepped away from her. "We shall see! Fight, or I take your sister here and now!" he paused for a moment, then smiled. A promise he would not keep! "Oh, to sweeten the deal. You win, I'll leave you and the Earth alone!" 

Aura considered; she knew he had to be lying, but for that one chance, she had to do it. "All right. I'll fight." 

Adam's eyes were fluttering open. "Aura. . . no," he had heard just enough to know what was happening here. 

"Adam!" Aura looked towards her friend and smiled a little. "You're all right! Well, you're awake, anyway!" 

Adam shook his head. "You can't fight her!" 

Aura clenched her fists. "I'll be all right, Adam. I handled Goldar and he was better than her!" 

Adam sighed. "Don't lose, please!" he couldn't stand to see Azure with Galan for all time. That would destroy his very soul. 

Aura shook her head. "I won't!" she turned back to Galan and Scorpina, whispering to herself. "I can't afford to," she looked over to her enemies and spoke louder. "Let's get this over with." 

Galan nodded. "Follow us then!" Adam was unchained and dragged with them, while Katia was carried by a Zalic. The battle began moments after their arrival, and from the first Aura was the clear victor. She was just faster, stronger, better than Scorpina in every way. 

Aura glared to Galan, a small smile curving her lips. "Looks like you're going to have to release Adam and Katia, and leave Earth!" 

Galan stood up, his sword in his hand. "We shall see!" he pointed to Scorpina, who suddenly swelled with four times the strength and power she'd formally possessed. Aura bit her lip; she'd been winning, but this changed everything: for the worst. 

The fight began again, but this time it was Scorpina who was winning. Aura did her very best, there was just no way she was going to give up this fight. If she died, it would be because she was beaten, not because she had given up. 

"Admit it, you're beaten!" Scorpina glared. Aura snapped back with the last of her breath. 

"Drop dead!" 

Scorpina laughed. "It is you who will be dead!" she seized the Amber Ranger by her throat and threw her into a wall with all her enhanced strength. Aura staggered back to her feet and lurched towards Scorpina again. "Why can't you admit that you are beaten?" Scorpina screeched. Aura had never looked this bad and still been walked! 

"I'm not beaten until I'm dead!" 

Scorpina laughed. "So be it!" she slammed Aura once more into a wall, and once again, Aura staggered back to her feet. Adam cried out her name, not able to standing seeing her hurt like this. 

Aura could barely stay on her feet; her vision kept blurring with pain. _I have to do this! I have to win, no matter what it takes! _Scorpina was coming closer to her, stinger raised and ready. Aura blinked a little, then collapsed, no longer able to stay on her feet. 

"NO! Aura!" Adam cried out, watching as Aura fell at Scorpina's feet. Galan laughed. 

"Looks like we won, my dear!" he glanced to Scorpina, who was stalking closer with her sword about to come down on Aura's unprotected neck. 

"Indeed we have," Scorpina nodded. "Now to finish her off!" 

Galan raised a hand. "Not just yet. She may yet serve a purpose for one final bit of revenge!" 

Scorpina frowned in disappointment. "You said I could kill her!" 

Galan was quick to reassure her. "You can, after I have her sister! She will spend the rest of eternity with me, knowing that she will never see her husband or daughter again?" 

Scorpina kicked Aura in the ribs. "What to do with her, then?" 

Galan had already made his plans for that. "Chain her up, then go to Azure and let her know personally what we want." 

Scorpina hauled Aura to her feet and chained her next to Adam. The Amber Ranger hung there, unconscious, and Scorpina chuckled to herself. "I hope she doesn't live through her injuries!" 

Adam stared at his friend, tears rolling down his cheeks. "You've got to be all right!" _Oh, Aura, why did you come here? You knew he couldn't be trusted. We have to get out of here._   
  


* * *

  


Azure was sitting up in her bed; she'd woke up only a few minutes after Billy had left. She stared endlessly at a picture she had; of herself, Adam, Billy, and Aura. It had been taken during that year of peace, when all had been wonderfully quiet. _Will we ever know that peace again?_

"Greetings, human!" Scorpina appeared suddenly before her. Azure yelped and backed away from her, heart thudding in her chest. 

"What do you want from me this time?" 

Scorpina stepped closer to her. "Just to let you know that your husband, your daughter and your sister are all prisoners of Galan, the Amber Ranger Hunter!" 

Azure felt her blood draining from her as she paled. "Why? Why can't you leave my family alone?" 

Scorpina's laugh echoed vilely in the room. "It's so much fun to torment you! Just like it was fun to beat your sister nearly to death!" 

Azure's eyes flew wide in horror. "No!" 

"Galan demands your surrender, or they will all be killed!" she told Azure. There was very little she enjoyed more than see humans in pain, be it physical or emotional, and Azure was in a great deal of emotional pain at the moment. 

"Will he let them go free if I do?" Azure asked quietly. She would give up anything, do anything to protect those she loved; in that she and Aura were alike. Scorpina nodded. 

"Of course!" _what she doesn't know will hurt them a great deal!_

Azure stood up. "I'll go, but I'd like to say good-bye to them first," she decided. _Aura has given herself so many times for us; it's time I did it for her. I love you, my sister. Always._

Scorpina grabbed her arm tightly. "We'd better hurry, then!" _If we don't, then her sister will be dead before we get there. Not that I'd mind. I'd been waiting too long for that as it is!_

They were on the moon a moment later, and Azure ran straight for Adam as she saw him, hugging him. "Oh, Azure, you shouldn't have come!" he told her. Azure smiled at him. 

"I had to," she remembered when similar words had been spoken, when Zedd and Eric had kidnapped him and Billy so long before. "This sounds so familiar, doesn't it?" 

Adam nodded as he glanced to Aura, who still hung in her chains, still unconscious from the hideous beating she'd received. Azure stared at her sister, then whirled on Galan. 

"You bastard!" she growled. Scorpina laughed and shook her head. 

"Oh, Galan didn't do that to her. I did!" 

Azure's eyes never left Galan. "Where is Katia?" she wanted to know. Adam gestured as best he could to a cradle nearby, as Katia set up a mournful wail of fright suddenly. Azure went to pick her up, and held her daughter tightly to her. "Shhh. . .Momma's here," she whispered as tears poured down her cheeks. She had never felt so fully tender and maternal as she did with her daughter in her arms. 

Scorpina glanced to Galan. "Can I kill Aura now?" she was tired of waiting; things had a way of getting in the way if these Rangers weren't dealt with immediately. Azure glared at the two of them suddenly. 

"You're sending them both back to Earth, and Katia too!" 

Scorpina shrugged casually. "I lied." Azure growled with rage and headed to Scorpina. "And just what are you going to do about it?" the evil warrior asked. A moment late, Azure had kicked her as hard as she was capable of. Scorpina growled, slapped her away, and grabbed Adam by the hair, putting her sword to his throat. "That's quite enough!" she growled. 

Azure stopped in her tracks; unable to let Adam come to harm. "Anything but that!" 

As Scorpina's wicked laughter sounded, Aura's eyes flickered suddenly and she croaked her sister's name weakly. Azure hardly noticed; too worried over her husband at the moment. 

Azure stared to Scorpina. "What do you want from me?" her voice quavered in fear. Scorpina chuckled. 

"Just for you to behave. You're going to be staying here forever after all. Too bad it won't be with them!" she gestured towards Aura, Adam, and Katia. Azure dropped to her knees, pleading with all her heart. 

"Just let them all go!" she begged. "please!" 

Scorpina looked to Galan. "No way! I want to kill Aura now!" 

Galan was having too much fun watching Azure beg to pay attention to Scorpina at this moment, though. None of them noticed Aura's head rising, or her eyes clearing, or the rage smoldering within them. 

"Please, let her go!" Azure wept with fright. She didn't want them to die, she wanted her family to live, with or without her! For the first time in her life, she was able to give up her life for something, for theirs. She finally understood Aura now, how she was able to risk her life so many times for those she loved. "Kill me, but let her go!" 

Scorpina grinned. "Kill you. Hmmmm. . .not a bad idea!" Galan agreed. 

"So be it!" he declared. "But they watch!" Adam began to pull at his chains when he heard that, screaming denial. He could not, would not let that happen! Azure could not die! Scorpina was coming closer to her, the sword raised in her hands and thirsty for blood to be shed at last. 

"No!" the voice was weak, but grew stronger with every word. "Not an innocent. Not Azure." An amber light began to shine, and a chill wind filled the castle. It all went unnoticed by Galan, Scorpina, Azure, and Adam alike. 

"I love you, Aura," Azure whispered as she closed her eyes in preparation for her death. "I love you, Adam. I love you, Katia. I'm sorry." 

No one missed what happened next. A voice, a thousand voices joined as one, sounded in one word, one single word. 

"No!" everyone turned to see Aura standing there, eyes blazing bright and an amber glow all around her. The wind circled her, and in that wind they all heard whispered voices, all of them denying Azure's death. "This shall not happen!" With a simple jerk, Aura shattered her chains and stood away from the wall. Her hair blew all around her, her eyes blazed with a fury beyond any they had ever seen her possessed by. 

Scorpina stopped just inches from Azure. "How?" she breathed. 

"You have harmed the innocent enough, Galan and Scorpina," Aura spoke with the voices of all her ancestors, they were within her now. She was the last Amber Ranger of Kalakan, but every one of them who had come before her was now standing within her heart and soul. Twenty of them had fallen to Galan's dark magics and blade, and now their last descendent, the last Amber Ranger of Kalakan, the first of Earth, stood to avenge their murders and to stop the death of a true innocent. "This shall not happen. We will not permit it." 

Galan and Scorpina stared, unable to believe what was happening. In Aura's eyes, Galan saw reflected the entire Alanatrius family. "Galan, you killed many of us. That is a blood-debt that must be paid: and will be paid now. Scorpina, you harmed and threatened harm to one we claim as kin. You will be punished." 

"Shit!" Galan exclaimed. It was the only thing that came to mind. 

"Not very elegant last words," was Aura and her family's comment. She raised her hand and a blast of amber light exploded forth, enveloping Galan and rendering him to dust. Azure's eyes went wide with fear as this happened. Scorpina turned and tried to leave, running with all her strength. 

"Not so fast!" Aura and her family had a special punishment reserved for Scorpina. With another flash of light, Scorpina stood before them, no longer in her golden armor but in human clothing. 

"What? What happened?" she asked, her voice shaking. Azure curled up next to Adam, terrified of what her sister had become. 

"You are deprived of all your powers, and condemned to life as a mortal," judgment was pronounced coldly. "Having a mortal's lifespan from this moment on. May your new life be better than your old." She who had been Scorpina vanished a moment later. 

"What happened?" Adam asked as the light faded and his chains vanished. Aura stood alone again, feeling curiously fulfilled inside. All of her injuries had been healed in that moment of perfect union with her ancestors. She smiled to herself; she knew inside what had happened to her, why she felt so good. 

_I am the Amber Ranger. I have acted as the Amber Ranger for the first time in my life. I have destroyed that which threatened my family and my planet._

Adam picked up Katia gently, and then went to Azure. "Let's go home," he said softly. Aura nodded; as fulfilled as she felt, she was also exhausted. 

"Yeah. It's finally over." 

Azure looked at her sister, fears in her eyes. "You killed him?" her voice trembled. Aura nodded; there were no regrets in her heart at all. 

"It was necessary. He would have never stopped coming after us. Never stopped chasing my descendants. I put an end to that. No, we did. Me, my family. We were all in it together." 

Azure looked up to Adam, stepping a bit away from her sister. "Let's go home."   
  


* * *

  


The Rangers were surprised to see everyone who was missing appear in the Command Center suddenly. Aura looked at them all; there was a change in her, a sense of strength they had never known even in her. "It's over. Galan is dead and Scorpina won't ever bother us again." 

At Rocky's request, she explained everything that had went on. Azure listened quietly, then turned away from her sister. She couldn't face her now. She'd never had any idea Aura was so: cold-blooded. 

"Guess we're retired again. For now," Tommy sighed. They were all relieved to hear that. Aura looked at Azure, and felt the first tingling of regret in her soul. 

"Azure, are you afraid of me?" she whispered, fearing to hear the answer. Azure glared at her suddenly. 

"What do you think?" 

Aura tried to tell her what had been going on. "I did what I had to do, Azure. Galan would have never stopped hunting my family, our family down. If we'd just driven him away from Earth, he would have come back in a few decades or centuries, looking to kill whoever the Amber Ranger of the time was." 

"So you just killed him, in cold blood!" Azure snapped, putting her hand on her communicator; ready to teleport out in a moment. Aura laid a hand on Azure's shoulder. 

"Azure, if there had been any other way, I would've taken it. But there was none," she said. She wished she could've told Azure what she'd learned from her ancestors; how some had tried to reform Galan, only to fall to his blade or his magic. That Galan was truly unredeemable, evil in his soul as Rita and Zedd had never dreamed of being. 

That she had agreed to be the vessel for their power only because it was the only way to save Azure's life. She had never wanted revenge; she only wanted to protect. 

Azure looked at her sister for a long moment, then teleported away. Her hard eyes had softened briefly, and Aura sighed deeply as she looked where her sister had been. "I wish there had been some other way, if only to stop Azure from being afraid of me." 

"Give her time. You know how stubborn she is," Adam looked around the room. He understood why Aura had done what she did; sometimes evil simply couldn't be contained; it had to be stopped. "I'm going to go talk to her. Stop by later." Adam joined his wife in teleporting out. 

Aura nodded as he did so, glancing over at the other Rangers. She managed to avoid looking at Billy. She hoped he wasn't still angry at her for what she'd told him earlier. His voice called her attention back to him. 

"Aura, we need to talk," he said, then looked to Rocky. "Would you mind looking after the kids for a while?" 

Rocky nodded and smiled. "I'd love to!" Kat took his hand gently. 

"We both would." 

Billy looked at Aura. "Aura?" he asked gently. She looked at him nervously. 

"You're right, we need to talk. Teleport us to the park, Alpha."   
  


* * *

  


The two of them sat beneath their tree, their favorite place for talking, no matter what the subject matter was. Finally, he asked, "Why didn't you tell me?" 

"I was afraid of how you'd react, and ashamed of what I did as well," Aura told him. She knew in her heart she hadn't been in complete control of herself at that moment, that the love potion had been ruling her heart. But it still shamed her. 

His voice was pained as he replied, "I wish you would have told me." 

"I thought about it," she told him. "I wanted to. But I was afraid you'd react just like this: not loving me anymore." 

His heart spasmed at the sorrow within her voice. "I still love you. I'm more hurt over the fact you kept this from me." 

Aura nodded. "I know I shouldn't have, but when I got back that time I was so sick over what had happened, and so ashamed I couldn't tell you then. Later, I was just too scared!" 

Billy brushed her hair away from her face gently, looking into those eyes that were so full of hurt and love mixed. "Did you think that Shaya might have been Galan's while you were carrying her?" 

Aura sighed. "I thought about it. It made me sick, so very sick to think about that. So I did something else I didn't tell you about." 

"What?" 

"I asked the Spirit of Earth, and she told me that Shaya is yours," she was rewarded by Billy's smile, one she hadn't seen in so long. 

"I never doubted that, even when you told me what you'd done with Galan." 

Aura nodded absently. "But I had to find out. I had to know for sure. I don't know what I would've done if she had been his." 

Billy took her hands and looked deep into her eyes. "Aura, if there is anything you ever feel like not telling me. Because you're scared of how I'll take it, don't be. We will work them out. And if she had been, I would still have loved her. She's part of you. I mean, look how Eric is turning out his second time around!" 

Aura smiled for a moment, then frowned again. "Billy. . .how do you feel over what I did to Galan?" 

"I'm glad he's gone, but I don't know," he mused. "I honestly don't know. I wasn't there, so I don't have all the facts." 

Aura couldn't help but grin. He'd never been one to make a decision without all the facts. She quietly told him everything she knew of, everything that had went through her mind as she had stood with her ancestors. When she was done, he told her, "You know I'm going to want to talk to Azure and Adam first." 

Aura nodded. "I have no real regrets over what I did. When you have thirty-five other Amber Rangers within you, most of them wanting justice done for their deaths, it's kind of hard to have regrets." 

Billy knew how she felt. "That's understandable. But think about it from Azure's point of view. All she knows is that one minute, she's willing to die for you and her family, the next you kill someone." 

Aura tried to explain, "That's why I killed him. One of the reasons, anyway. So she wouldn't have to." 

Billy sighed; Aura and Azure were mirrors of stubbornness. "She may not have seen it that way. Who was the one who was going to kill her? Scorpina or Galan?" 

"Scorpina, at Galan's orders," Aura sighed deeply suddenly. She knew what she had to do, and it hurt her to the core of her soul to do this. "Billy." 

"Yes?" 

"I think I want to leave Angel Grove for a while. A lot has happened over the past few months that I really need to think over alone." 

Billy agreed; she did need some time along. "At least talk to Azure before you go; get her side of what happened up there." 

Aura nodded. "I will," _And maybe she'll see my side of it too. We may never agree over it, but we don't need to fight over it._

"Guess Rocky's going to be over a lot!" Billy smiled and hugged her deeply. "I love you so much, Aura. Are you going to be all right?" 

Aura sighed. "I will be." _I hope._

He nodded, and kissed her passionately. "Go talk to your sister."   
  


* * *

  


Adam opened the door to see Aura standing outside, a sad look in her eyes. "Hey, come on in," he invited her. As she entered, she glanced around. Nothing was broken, so Azure wasn't angry, at least not enough to throw things around. 

"Hi, Adam," she greeted him. "Where's Azure? I need OT tell her something." 

"In our room," he gestured down the hall. Aura headed there, knocking lightly on the door. It swung open and she saw Azure inside, staring out the window. 

"Azure," she said softly. Azure looked over at her, and Aura's heart nearly broke at the grief and rage in her eyes. 

"What?" 

"We need to talk," Aura came over towards her. "You're upset over what I did." 

Azure raised an eyebrow. "Do you blame me? You killed someone in cold blood!" 

"Who would have killed us if I hadn't." 

Azure stared. "Would he? You didn't hear what I said. He was willing to spare your life, Adam and Katia's lives, if I died! I asked him to take my life!" 

"Do you really believe that?" Aura asked. She knew within her heart Galan would never have kept his word, especially not where she had been concerned. 

"I don't know what to believe anymore," Azure sighed, looking out the window again. "I really don't." 

"Do you believe he would have kept his word once you were dead? What would have stopped him from killing us all?" 

Azure kept looking out the window. "What if he had actually meant to keep his word? Now we'll never know." 

"Azure," Aura bit her lip, and looked away, then looked back. "I experienced something of what my ancestors, the ones he killed, did in that moment. And it wasn't pretty." _It was a nightmare. One I hope I don't relive, ever._

Azure sighed. "Aura, how am I supposed to take this? There are times, this being one of them, that I wish you had never become the Amber Ranger. But there are times I'm thankful you are. I can't stand being on this emotional rollercoaster being associated with the Rangers has put me on." 

Aura's voice held no emotions whatsoever. Azure was uncomfortably reminded of when Aura hadn't known of her true identity. "You don't have to worry about that now." 

"Till the next space alien comes and attacks Earth." 

"Which hopefully won't be for a long time. Several years. Decades. Centuries down the line," Aura sighed. "Azure, I'm leaving Angel Grove." 

Azure could only stare in disbelief; she'd never thought to hear Aura say that! "What?" 

"I have to think about what's happened," she bit her lip; her usual reaction when something had upset her like this. "There's still something I haven't told you," in quick terse words she told what she had done with Galan while under the love potion's power. Azure smiled, oddly. 

"I know," she told her sister. "I wasn't totally asleep when you told Billy." 

Aura smiled a little in return. "That's another thing I have to think through. Whether I want to put Billy and the others and you through what will likely happen if another batch of evil aliens show up after me. And it could happen." 

Azure turned away from her sister. "You'd leave your husband and children because of that?" 

"I don't want to," Aura told her. "But they might be safer without me. I said I wanted to think it over. I didn't say I was going to do it!" 

Azure looked at her, eyes hard. "You did it once before, didn't you? Left Billy. And now you're willing to leave your children. This is the stupidest thing I've ever seen you do!" Azure felt as if someone had stabbed her in the heart at the look in her sister's eyes. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." 

Aura looked at her, with tears in her eyes. "Azure, I didn't say I was willing to do it! You were willing to die to protect us, do you think I'm no less willing? If anything does come looking for me, you guys will be safe if and I said I leave!" Aura's voice had risen with each word until she was finally shouting, tears flowing down her cheeks. How could Azure have misunderstood her so badly? 

"Mind if I come in?" Adam knocked quietly on the open door. Aura looked at her sister, then ran out the door, not stopping to talk to Adam. She had never felt so alone in her entire life. 

"What was that all about?" Adam asked his wife carefully. Azure didn't even look at him. 

"Nothing." 

"It didn't seem like nothing," he wasn't prepared for her reaction, as she turned to him with tear-filled eyes. 

"Oh, Adam. I'm so scared that I lost her! That I lost my sister, and it's all my fault!" _All my fault for not understanding, for only hearing what I wanted to hear! She was trying to tell me, and all I heard was 'I killed him'. _

Adam went to her and held her tightly. "I don't think you've lost her. She just said she wanted to think things through." 

Azure shook his head. "You saw how she was when she left." 

Adam nodded; he'd seen it perfectly well. "Billy would know better than me. But I think once she's calmed down, things will be all right." 

Azure sighed deeply. "I hope so. I really hope so." 

"It will be," he held her tightly and kissed her on the forehead. _I hope so, too, Azure. _  
  


* * *

  


**two months later**

Adam sat on the floor, playing with Katia and waiting for Azure to come home from rehearsals. There was a peace in the house, and all over the Rangers, that there hadn't been in months. Zordon would've relieved them of their powers and duties, if they hadn't detected Zedd returning to Earth in Serpenterra. It would be a long while before he was actually there, he seemed to be taking his time, but he was definitely coming back. 

In those two months, there had been no word from Aura since she'd left their home in tears. Zordon had told them he knew of her location, and that she was safe, but she had asked him not to reveal it. She still wanted to be alone, it seemed. Adam looked up as the door opened and Azure entered. 

"How is my precious little one?" she asked, coming over to sit next to him. 

"She's fine!" 

"And how is my husband?" Azure kissed him gently; except for Aura's being gone, they had resolved all their differences now. 

"Just fine too!" he loved her so very much! 

"What's for dinner?" Azure asked quietly. "Or are we eating out again?" 

Adam shrugged. "I dunno yet." 

Azure sighed deeply, smiling. "You really hate to cook, don't you?" Adam nodded, and Azure couldn't help but laugh. "Let me go change. I'm going to have my mom give you cooking lessons!" 

Adam grinned. "All right, but the last time I tried to cook, it ate through the stove!" 

Azure giggled. "Is that why we had to replace it?" 

Adam nodded, and Azure was showered and changed in moments. "Ready?" she asked as she headed for the door. Adam nodded. 

"Where to tonight?" he wondered, picking up Katia gently. Azure grinned. 

"Anything but pizza!" she declared. Adam nodded, and Azure opened the door. Her eyes widened in shock. "You!?" 

Aura chuckled from the doorway. "Who me?" 

"When did you get back?" Adam winced; hearing some of the tension return to Azure's voice at the sight of her sister. 

"Just got in," Aura told them. "I've been in the Heart." 

Azure nodded; she'd suspected that was where Aura had went. It was the safest place in the universe for her. "You had good timing; we were just getting ready to go out." 

Aura smiled; she looked so relaxed, so at ease. "I'm glad I caught you then." 

Azure backed away from the door. "Come in." Adam looked at the sisters, noting the strain in the air. 

"Maybe I should order in!" Adam suggested, heading out of the room. He wanted to leave them alone to settle the last of their differences in peace. 

Aura nodded as he left the room. "We never finished that conversation last time, thank to me." 

Azure sat across from Aura. "No, we didn't." 

Aura sighed. "You were right, Azure. Because of what I did, we'll never know if Galan intended to keep his word." 

_This isn't what I wanted to do tonight._ Azure sighed to herself. "What else did you come up with?" 

"That is was still necessary to do what I did." 

"Was it?" Azure wondered. In all her life, she had never believed in cold-blooded murder. 

"Azure, I know how you feel about killing," Aura tried to explain. "If I hadn't done it, he would've returned later. Maybe when someone was around who wasn't prepared for him, and another Amber Ranger would have died, or more of my family. Our family." 

Azure still couldn't look at her sister without feeling regret and anger. "Aura, these past two months, I had some time to think also. As much as I want to, I can't agree with what you did, nor will I probably ever agree with it. But what's done is done. There is no way you can change Scorpina back to her old self, or bring Galan back from the dead. I don't have to accept it, either. You acted out of revenge. I didn't see anything in you that said you did it to help me." 

"Would it change anything if I told you the only reason I agreed to do what my ancestors wanted was because it would help you?" Aura asked gently. _They wanted me to kill him without compassion or mercy, and Scorpina too. But I could not, would not do that. I did what I could for Scorpina, and I did the only thing I could do to Galan. If he had been able to change, willing to change in his heart, I would've done to him what I did to Scorpina. But she wanted to change, though she didn't even know it. I could feel it in her._

"Then you were the only one who didn't do it of revenge." 

Aura smiled a bit. "If someone had killed you, wouldn't you want revenge?" 

"How could I?" Azure smiled as ell. "I'd be dead. Aura, I forgave Eric. I forgave Galan after what he tried the first time. I can't live my life by 'what ifs'." 

"Just because you're dead doesn't mean you can't want things," Aura reminded her gently. "I don't know if I could ever forgive Zedd or Galan for what they did to me. But I do know I can learn from it." 

"That's where we're different." 

Aura shrugged. "If we were alike, we wouldn't be sisters, we'd be each other." 

"That we would," Azure was looking at the floor; it had been a long time since she'd looked into her sister's eyes. "Aura, would you still have done it if Galan hadn't threatened me?" 

Aura didn't answer for a few minutes. "If he had threatened Adam or Katia, yes. If he had threatened me, no." 

"What makes us so different from you?" she wondered. _Other than the fact it was your ancestors that gave you the power to do what you did._

"It's because of what I am. A defender. A protector of others, never myself." 

Adam joined them then, saying, "That's what all Rangers are, Aura." She shrugged. 

"She asked. That's what I would've done if he'd threatened me. Let myself die, to save them," Aura said simply. That was all there was to it. Azure sighed. 

"Now you know why I did it: to save my sister." 

"I always knew that," Aura told her. "But I didn't want you to die." 

"This isn't going to be something so easily taken care of, is it?" Azure knew that already; Aura only confirmed it. "Excuse me." she got up, heading for their room. Aura sighed and looked at Adam. 

"If there had been any other way to save you all, I would have taken it gladly," she told him. Adam looked at her, worry in his dark eyes. 

"I don't think that's all that's bothering her." 

"Then what is it?" 

Adam shrugged. "Whatever it is, she hasn't said much to me about it. But she still is having nightmares about Eric." 

Aura shivered. "I know about nightmares," _I had a solid month of them at the Heart. Nightmares where Galan's love potion never faded; where Zedd came back and killed everyone and took me; where a thousand different hideous fates befell the Rangers, all because of me not being able to kill Galan. And a thousand more where it happened because I did kill him. _"I wish I could help." 

As Azure returned, a box in her hands, Adam said, "She'll come around, you'll see." 

Azure held the box to her sister. "this is something I've had for a while. In it are the letters I wrote you over these past two months." 

Aura quietly started to read, as Azure watched, tears rolling down her cheeks. Aura had her eyes opened with these letters to a part of her sister's life she'd had no idea even existed. Things Eric had done to her; how scared she'd been when first finding out about Adam being a Power Ranger, then when her own sister had become one. The heartbreak of their six-month separation when everyone had believed Aura was dead. The anger and sickness she had felt when watching Aura destroy Galan with a single gesture. By the time Aura had read the last one, tears sparkled on her own cheeks. 

She raised her head to look up at Azure. "Whether we agree on this or not, sometimes things have to be done that aren't very nice." 

Azure nodded. "I know, but that doesn't mean I have to like or accept it." 

Aura sighed. "I never said I liked or accepted it, but it's done." 

"I know." 

Aura looked at Azure, wanting nothing more than to hug her and cry on her shoulder, to release the guilt she'd felt the past two months with someone who would understand. _What if Azure doesn't like me? I don't think I could stand my sister not being also my friend._

"And about those other things," Azure continued. "I felt I needed to tell you, in case you decided not to come back." she came over to Aura and hugged her with all her strength in that moment. 

"I would never leave you guys forever," Aura told her. "I couldn't. I love you all too much. I just needed some time to realize that." 

Azure smiled at her. "I know, but it still needed to be said. You didn't know about half the stuff in there, did you?" 

Aura shook her head. "Why didn't you ever tell me?" 

Azure sighed and looked up for a few moments. "I couldn't face the truth about it. I never have been able to until now." 

"I understand," Aura had a few things she didn't really want to face left. Azure looked to Adam, then to Aura. 

"I guess I'm going to be having a nice long talk with my husband," she smiled a little. "You'd better get home to yours." 

Aura nodded. "He still doesn't know I'm back." 

Azure patted her sister's hand. "Then go tell him," she glanced to Adam. "I wonder if Rocky is available to baby-sit?" 

"Let's find out," Adam smiled at her, heading for the telephone as Aura went to her own home. He and Azure were in for a long night, he realized. It was one that had been years in coming.   
  


* * *

  


Billy and Tommy were watching the children together. Rocky was getting a well-deserved break from the Cranston trio, as people were already beginning to call them. Billy watched and laughed gently as Alex did his level best to kick a ball around the house. A well-loved voice startled him suddenly. 

"Hi, Billy." 

Billy looked up, and was on his feet in a moment. "Aura?" he ran over to her. "I have missed you so much!" 

Aura hugged him hard and kissed him deeply. "Not as much as I missed you: and I'm never leaving again." 

Billy sighed with relief. "You don't know how good it is to hear that." 

Aura smiled. "Not as good as it is to say it." 

Billy decided to ask the one question he had to; to get it out of the way. "Have you seen Azure yet?" at her nod, he continued, "How did it go between you two?" 

Aura thought for a few moments. "I've had better conversations with her, and I learned things that even I never knew about her. But eventually, things should be all right." 

Billy hugged her again; he couldn't get enough of having his arms around her. "That's good to hear. Come on, there are some people over here who missed their mother!" 

Aura looked at the three children, and her heart simply melted. How could she have left them for even a moment? "I missed them!" 

Tommy cleared his throat a little. "Nice to have you back, Aura," the White Ranger told her. Aura smiled. 

"Good to be back." 

"You two have a lot to talk about; I'm going to go," he headed for the door as Aura looked to Billy. Before she could ask what was on her mind, Tommy dropped one little bombshell. "By the way, Kim and I are getting married!" 

He was out the door before Aura could react. "When did this happen?" she wondered. 

"I think he proposed the night before last," Billy told her. She leaned against him gently, then looked up at him. 

"Billy, are you still upset over what happened with Galan and me?" 

"Not a bit," he replied promptly. "It wasn't your fault, not one second of it," he looked into her deep gray eyes. "I love you, Aura Cranston, with all my heart." 

She looked back at him. "I love you, Billy Cranston, with everything that is mine to call my own," once they'd finished the sweetest of kisses, Billy had one more question for her. 

"So, did you get everything you needed to get settled, settled?" at her nod, he smiled. "That's good. I missed you, Aura. I missed you so much." 

They spent the rest of that night making up for a two month separation in that way that only two people who loved each other more than life itself could. It was a most satisfying night for all concerned, even being interrupted four times by three children.   
  


* * *

  


Azure sat on the bed cross-legged, looking at Adam. Rocky was with Katia in the other room, a few locked doors between them. Adam looked at her, and essayed a smile. "So, are we ordering in or going out for dinner?" 

Azure did something that was midway between a sigh and a laugh. "I'm not too hungry. We really need to talk about this," she glanced at the box. 

Adam fell serious suddenly. "Why didn't you tell me about whatever's in there?" he asked. 

"It didn't feel right," she told her husband. "I don't fully understand it, but it just didn't. Now it does. Most of the stuff that was in here is about what Eric tried to do to me when we lived in New York." 

Adam shivered. "I still don't like thinking about that, or him." _I'm so glad he's growing up without whatever influences it was that made him such scum in the first place. He's showing such an improvement on New Kalakan._

"I don't either," Azure sighed. "But I am not going to escape from it easily. Adam, I was thirteen when he tried to rape me for the first time," she saw the shock in his eyes. It was nothing compared to what she'd felt that time. "That's not all. I actually blamed myself for it and everything else he did to me." 

"Why?" Adam wondered. "Whatever would make you think it was your fault?" 

Azure's eyes were dark and distant, looking back to the past. "Eric liked to play mind games. Somehow he lead me to believe that I deserved it, and like an idiot, I believed him. All the abuse I was dished out from him, verbal and physical, I thought it was my fault." 

Adam looked sick; it was all he could do not to throw up. "That's. . . horrible." 

Azure held his hands tightly. "After he made the attempt that Aura interrupted, the one that got him put in Juvie Hall, I didn't trust anyone but my sister, till I met you. I trusted her because she was the one person in my life who had never betrayed me, who stuck by me no matter what. My parents did, too, but they weren't there when he tried what he did. Aura nearly killed him, he nearly killed her. She moved so fast," Azure fell silent for a moment, remembering what had happened that day. Eric had pulled a gun on Aura; who'd moved so fast she almost couldn't be seen and gotten it out of his hands. Azure suddenly realized why Aura had been able to move so fast. _It was being the Amber Ranger. It was her powers, buried inside of her, that did it. I don't believe it. I owed her my life and sanity because of her power even then. _She continued talking. "Outside, I may have acted like everything was okay, but inside, I couldn't get some of those thoughts out of my head. I know now that none of it was my fault, but I still blame myself." 

Adam pulled her into a hug. "That's why you reacted how you did, when he showed up again. And none of it is your fault; you don't have to blame yourself." 

Azure nodded. "I blame myself for not telling Aura or my parents sooner what he was doing to me. Six months is a long time to keep a secret like that." 

"He shouldn't have been put in Juvie Hall, he should've been killed!" Adam said vehemently. The thought of someone, anyone, hurting a child like that made him want to strangle something. The thought that it was his Azure made it even worse. 

Azure frowned. "Adam, don't talk like that, please," she looked away for a few moments. "There's more, though. I want to tell you everything about what happened." 

"I'm listening," he told her. _I'll listen forever, and help all I can. I love you so much, Azure. I will love you forever._

After a moment of silence, Azure continued, "The first time, Eric got a lot farther than Aura thinks he did, be it that he never," she stopped, not wanting to say what had nearly happened. "He still got pretty far," Adam wrapped her in a warm hug, and she leaned into the protection of his strong arm. "Because of some of the things he did, the doctors were afraid that I may never be able to carry a child. But I was able to." 

Adam smiled. "I noticed." 

"He beat me pretty badly one night," she continued. "I kicked him and balled up; and that's when Aura came into the room. She thought she heard me screaming," she smiled a little, through the tears that started to fall, remembering how Aura had nearly killed Eric that same night. She sighed and handed Adam the box. "Read these." 

As he did so, she laid down on the bed and cried, releasing years of pent-up fear and pain. Once he was done, she turned back to him. "You can understand why I never told anyone?" 

Adam sighed as he hugged her, as sickened as he was by the events told in those letters. "Yes." _I never want to let her go. I want to keep her safe forever. I love her. I love you, Azure._

"I never thought I'd feel safe around anyone again," she told him. "But I do. I love you, Adam." 

"And I love you, Azure Park," he told her. "Forever and always until the end of time. And even after that." 

She chuckled a little, wiping away tears that had been years in coming. "What do you say we just stay in tonight?" 

Adam nodded, leaning against her and kissing her gently. "All the bad times are over with, Azure. Finally." 

Azure sighed as she looked at him. "I hope so. I truly hope so." 

They kissed once more; hearts full of love and romance and passion. Everything was all right now. They were at peace. At last.

**The End**


	31. Returned Amber

_**Authors' note:** The authors of this fanfic hereby give due warning that this fic contains mild references to adult content and violence, and this will hold true for the next few Amber Ranger fics. You have been warned._

**Returned Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

Aura hummed to herself as she rocked Shaya back and forth, looking over a guest list that had to stretch to the floor. It had been four months since her return from the Heart and reconciliation with her sister. Tommy and Kim were going to be married in just over two months, and they were making preparations already. 

Aura looked over to Kim and chuckled. "Kim, I do believe that you've got more people coming to this wedding than were at mine!" 

Kim laughed. "I can't help it if I've got a huge family!" She and all the other former Rangers had returned to Angel Grove to stay now. She had won a gold in the Pan Global games just a month earlier, and Jason, Zack, and Trini were all finally home from the Peace Conference. 

"The food bill's going to be enormous!" Aura smiled. "After all, Rocky's going to be there!" 

Everyone chuckled at that. It looked like things had finally calmed down around Angel Grove. Zedd had vanished from their sensors not long after they'd detected him; they had no idea where he was. Zordon wasn't taking any chances, though, and the Rangers were all on alert. But as they were growing up and assuming adult lives, Zordon was also looking for younger replacements, teenagers who wouldn't have jobs and responsibilities that could be interrupted by monster attacks. Only Aura would still be on the team, since her powers couldn't be transferred to anyone else. So far, though, his search had been unsuccessful; teenagers of Ranger caliber just weren't that easy to come by. 

Kim looked over to Azure and Adam, kissing in a corner of the living room. "I still can't believe you two got married and didn't tell anyone!" 

Adam chuckled. "Well, we didn't want any interruptions!" 

Zack shook his head; they were all gathered together in the Harte living room, planning the wedding of the century it seemed. "I bet!" 

Aura glanced over to Billy. "Thinking over our interruptions, I wish we had eloped at times!" _Being made to love Goldar was one of THE worst experiences of my life. I am SO glad Adam and Billy got me out of that! _

Billy nodded, and Aura kissed him lightly. "But going through hell was worth it: since I reached heaven with you!" 

Tommy and Rocky joined them then; they had been the only ones not there. "Sorry, we're late," Tommy said as Kim bounced up to give him a kiss, forgiving him. She was used to his chronic lateness after all these years, and loved him anyway. With everyone assembled, they got down to the serious business of planning a wedding.   
  


* * *

  


Zedd sat in his quarters on Serpenterra, gazing ceaselessly at a hologram of Aura. It was three-dimensional, showing every exquisite line of her face and form. He was finally returning for the woman he'd sought after fifty thousand years earlier. 

_I left Rita for her. She'll be impressed; I'm certain of it. Oh, we might get off on the wrong foot since I DID spend a solid month torturing her, not to mention all the times I came close to killing her. But I think we can work that out. She really has no choice now, and once she realizes that, things will be flowing smoothly. I'm going to have to get rid of Billy, of course. That won't take long._

"Lord Zedd?" Goldar interrupted his thoughts by knocking on the cabin door. Zedd looked over at him, banishing the hologram as he did so. He hadn't told Goldar precisely why he'd left the M-51 Galaxy without Rita; just that they could no longer be together. How could he, when his every thought now revolved around Aura? 

"What is it?" he snarled. "This had better be good, Goldar!" 

"Sire, we have arrived back at the palace," Goldar reported. Zedd smiled and stood up. He'd created a field around Serpenterra that blotted it from the Command Center's scans; he wanted to surprise Aura with his arrival back in her life. He called his staff to him, and stamped it on the floor. 

With nothing but that, he and Goldar were back in the palace. Zedd looked sick at the bright and cheery decorations that were everywhere. "What did he do?" he wondered. This place was so full of light it made him ill! 

"This place is disgusting!" Goldar snarled as they explored what had happened to the palace. As they reached the arena, Zedd laughed, seeing the pile of dust that had once been Galan. 

"And you said you could do it!" he laughed. _And if he had, I would have destroyed him myself. No one but I shall have the pleasure of the Amber Ranger!_

"What are your plans, sire?" Goldar asked. All he knew was that Zedd had cornered him in Master Vile's palace one day, and told him they were returning to Earth, and that Rita, Rito, Finster, Squatt, and Baboo weren't coming with them. 

Zedd did what might have been a grin. "I have some unfinished business with the Amber Ranger!" _Unfinished for fifty thousand years and more! But it will be, at last!_

Goldar shrugged. "What do you want me to do, my lord?"_ What do I care what he does, as long as I get the chance to do some damage to something!_

Zedd glanced to Earth, then gestured towards the pile that had been Galan. "First, clean up that mess!" As Goldar swept up Galan, Zedd peered down at Earth. "Now, to get her up here!" 

He watched Aura for hours. "Blast it!" he growled suddenly. "If I could only get her alone!" 

Goldar glanced to the Earth; where Aura was sitting with her family and friends. "I could ambush her somewhere." _Now why does that sound so familiar to say?_

Zedd shook his head as an idea sprang into his head. "I have a better plan!" _Look out, Aura, I'm back, and you're going to be mine!_   
  


* * *

  


Azure shut the door behind their friends and turned back to Aura. The two sisters hadn't had much time to talk lately; and both wanted to severely. Azure sighed deeply; she'd been spending what free time she had lately with Adam, talking over the things she'd finally revealed some months earlier about her 'relationship' with Eric. 

"Aura," she said softly. 

"Yes?" her sister replied. 

Azure glanced down, still a bit uneasy around her. "I don't know where to start. There is so much we need to talk about." 

Aura nodded. "We haven't talked in a long while." 

"When have we been alone to talk? I'm usually at the theater, and you're with your family," Azure reminded her. Aura grinned. 

"True, but we're here now." 

Azure smiled. "Where do we begin?" 

The elder girl grinned. "I have no idea!" Azure looked over at her briefly. 

"There are so many places. What do you want to talk about?" Azure wondered. _So much we need to learn about each other now. What she's seen, what she's done, the same for me. It's almost like getting to know a whole new person! _Something clicked in her mind. "Maybe with Galan?" 

Aura closed her eyes briefly. "I guess. I would have never done what I did to him, if I didn't have the reasons I did. You know me, Azure, I've never liked hurting people. But I had to save you, and I needed the help of my ancestors to do it." 

"I know," Azure nodded. "And I understand. I've had time to think things through. Heck, it's been what? Six months since you did it. And it's not like I haven't tried killing someone!" 

Aura smiled a little, remembering that. "I know. I had to stop you then." 

"Adam reminded me of that little fact," Azure sighed a little. She'd always wondered what would've happened if Aura hadn't stopped her from killing Eric that day. She went over to her sister and held her hand tightly. "I also wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you!" 

"I wouldn't be here without you either!" Aura reminded her. She'd forgotten how many times Azure's love had saved her life and sanity. 

"I'd probably be either dead or in some kind of institution," Azure closed her eyes, blocking out the other thought she'd had. _Married to Eric. A living nightmare._

Aura shivered as she thought of how things could've turned out. "I'd be dead myself, or serving Zedd or Galan." 

Azure pulled her sister into a huge hug, washing away all the disagreement and pain that had filled the two of them the past few months. "I have missed you," she whispered. "Oh, I missed you!" 

"And I, you," Aura hugged back with all her strength, until Azure squeaked out her name in protest. "Yeah?" 

Azure breathed deeply and chuckled. "I couldn't breath!" as Aura tried to apologize, Azure told her, "It's okay! Now is everything back the way it should be?" she thought for a moment. "Well, almost!" 

"What else is wrong?" Aura wondered. 

"We've got four months to catch up on! We hardly saw each other and when we did, I was usually running off to rehearsals!" Azure reminded her. Aura giggled. 

"True. Now that we've got the time, do you want to hear about Billy's latest attempt at cooking?" 

Azure laughed. "Why not?" Aura began the story, which wound up involving the food arguing over being eaten! Azure laughed heartily; she'd missed this! "At least Billy's attempts don't include having to buy a new stove top every other month!" 

Aura smiled. "I'm just glad he hasn't blown the house up yet!" 

"I wish my life was as interesting as yours," Azure giggled a little. _She has so much strength. So much more than me. I wonder if it's from being the Amber Ranger or just her natural nature?_

Aura leaned back and grinned. "Hey, when you marry the world's smartest guy, you expect a few surprises!" 

"I'm lucky I got a caring man," Azure smiled. "I've needed it recently." 

"More nightmares?" 

Azure nodded. "Sometimes, but we were also talking about what he did to me, back when I was a teenager. He knows everything about it." 

Aura smiled a little. "I'm glad you finally told someone." 

"I wish I'd told you a lot earlier. There are thing that weren't even in those letters, about how I felt while it was happening." 

Her sister nodded. "I wish you'd told me too. But I can understand why you didn't." 

"I don't know either," Azure sighed deeply. "Aura, I thought it was my fault that he did what he did." 

"It wasn't." 

Azure nodded her agreement. "I know. But I did at the time," she at last explained to Aura what Eric had been doing before Aura had broken in on them that last time. Aura's eyes flashed with anger. 

"If Eric wasn't a child at the moment, I'd make him pay for that!" She allowed no harm to come to one she cared for, no matter what. 

"Maybe that's why I didn't tell you," Azure mused. She knew perfectly well how protective Aura was of her, and of anyone else she loved. 

Aura sighed. "It's just as well you didn't. If I'd known then, I don't know what I would've done." 

"Somehow, Zedd not being able to get him back has made me face what happened, and do it a little easier," Azure smiled. Shaya had brought baby Eric with her, and he was just a completely adorable toddler now. 

Aura sighed in remembrance. "And as he grows up this time, he'll be a much better person." 

"Thanks to Shaya," Azure smiled and stretched. Things had never been better for any of them. 

They didn't notice the two shadows moving just outside the house, listening to all that went on.   
  


* * *

  


Goldar and Zedd crouched outside the house. Zedd grinned as he listened to Aura's voice; it was just as full of fire and strength as it had been fifty thousand years ago. "What is your plan, sire?" Goldar asked quietly. Zedd had cast a spell so that they wouldn't be noticed by anyone looking for them by sight or scanners of any type. 

"We shall drug the Amber Ranger, and make it so that the Rangers won't look for her!" he told Goldar. Zedd thought over what he'd learned from Scorpina; he'd located her easily and dredged her brain without her knowledge to find out what had happened. Galan's main mistake had been letting the Rangers know he took Aura every now and then. Zedd had no intentions of letting them know he had her until he was ready to. 

"How is that, sire?" Goldar wanted to know. He hadn't had a thought of any kind as far back as Zedd had known him! 

"She shall leave a note," Zedd held out his hand, in which a note appeared, in a perfect facsimile of Aura's handwriting. He smiled a little; this plot simply couldn't fail! 

"Excellent plan, sire, but how to drug her?" Goldar wondered. "I don't think she'll take anything you give her!" 

Zedd laughed, calling a Tenga to him. "She won't know it's me drugging her!" He waved his staff, placing a minor compulsion on Aura to want pizza for dinner. He chuckled softly as she dialed up the order, then waited patiently for the delivery person to arrive. Before Aura or Azure could see him, he froze the teenage driver and zapped the pizza that was to be delivered with a very powerful spell. 

"When they eat it, they will fall into the most profound slumber imaginable!" he laughed as he released the pizza deliveryman, watching him serve the potioned food straight to the Amber Ranger's hands. _Soon. . .very soon, Aura, we will be together forever. It has been too long. Far too long, my only love._   
  


* * *

  


Adam and Billy entered the house shortly after the pizza did. "We're back!" Adam declared as they walked into the kitchen. Aura looked up as they came in. 

"So I see!" she grinned, while Azure waved happily towards them. "We've got enough pizza here for everyone, unless Rocky shows up!" 

They all grinned; and Azure asked, "So what have you two been up to?" 

"Nothing much," Adam shrugged. "Trying to help Tommy find a tux he looks good in." 

Billy nodded. "And that isn't an easy task!" 

"I'd be more concerned over finding one that he won't get food all over! He wants one in white, doesn't he?" 

As Adam nodded, Azure smiled. "We could always make sure there isn't any messy food at the reception!" 

"These are guys, Azure," Aura reminded her sister. "Guys don't know how to eat neatly!" That cracked Azure up, but confused Adam to no end! "You should see the messes I have to deal with at home!" 

Azure smiled as she leaned against the man she loved so very much. "I think the kids make more mess than most guys do," she said as she solemnly chose a slice of pizza and stared at it. "What, no anchovies?" she giggled suddenly; her dislike of the little fish was near-legendary! 

In a totally straight voice, Aura said, "They were out." 

In less time than it takes to tell, the pizza had been demolished, and the four of them were yawning heavily around the dinner table. "I am so tired!" Aura couldn't believe just how worn out she was. 

"I know what you mean," her sister said. "I can barely keep my eyes open." 

Adam tried to look at his wife. "Maybe we should head home, Azure," he suggested, only to see that Azure was fast asleep in his arms. Across the table Billy was snoring, head on his arms, and a moment later, he had joined them in the land of slumber. 

Zedd appeared in the middle of the room and casually dropped the fake note on the table. He looked at Aura, whose eyes were almost completely together by now. Her alien biology made her a bit more resistant to his sleeping potion than the humans, but she was already mostly asleep. 

"Zedd," she whispered his name, eyes almost widening. He chuckled as she recognized him, then succumbed to the potion's power. Zedd smiled and picked her up, running a quick hand through her masses of black hair. _She has only grown in beauty since I was last here. A beauty that is now mine forever. I do hope you enjoyed your last meal with this family. You belong to me now, and will forever!_   
  


* * *

  


Adam's eyes flickered and he awoke to find Azure laying across his lap. She stirred, slipped, and crashed to the floor, waking up harshly. "Huh?" was all she managed to say. 

"I. . .I think we all dozed off!" Adam muttered, looking around. Across the table, Billy was waking up as well. He noticed something the other two hadn't. 

"Where's Aura?" she was gone! All of them trembled for a moment; remembering times before when Aura had vanished mysteriously. They might have begun to panic, if Adam hadn't noticed a note on the table and read it quickly. 

"She left this," he said, handing it to Billy. The Blue Ranger read it quickly, then sighed, a mixture between relief and worry still. 

"What is it?" Azure wondered. _I hope nothing's wrong. The very last thing we need is to have her missing, and that be a ransom note!_

"She had to help the Spirit of Earth out somehow, she didn't say how. She'll be back as soon as she can be, and didn't want to wake us up," he reported. Azure stretched, trying to get a crick out of her neck from sleeping so uncomfortably. 

"I wish she had," she muttered. She hated having stiff muscles like this! Adam nodded 

"So do I," he glanced down at his watch, eyes widening. "It's getting late, we'd better be getting home, Azure." 

She smiled at him. "Let me go get, Katia." They had put all the children down before the guys had returned. She glanced to Billy. "Are you going to be okay by yourself?" 

Billy nodded, still a bit upset Aura hadn't awakened him before leaving. "I can always call Rocky to help out!" he told them. He missed Aura already; missed that sparkle of life and light she brought to his life. _Calm down; she'll be back. She's only at the Heart of the Earth._

"Call if you need anything," Azure told him as she headed to the children's' room. Billy nodded almost absently; she gave him a sisterly peck on the cheek. "She'll be home soon, Billy, and she's perfectly safe at the Heart, you know that." 

_How many times has she gone there and left a note? None. But we were never all asleep before when she left! That's so like her, not to want to bother us. Come home soon, Aura, I miss you already. _He barely noticed as Azure and Adam left with Katia, so occupied was he with his thoughts. _Why are you always leaving me for something? A prisoner, trying to get yourself back together? Why? Won't we ever be together, to stay? My Aura, my love. Why didn't you take me with you? _

Billy stayed lost in his thoughts right up until little Shaya started screaming for dinner.   
  


* * *

  


Zedd watched as Goldar shackled Aura to the wall, a small smile creasing what might have been considered lips if he had skin still. Still slumped in slumber, she looked so innocent. 

"This brings back memories," Goldar said, staring at the Ranger they'd so easily captured. Something was poking in the back of his mind, of seeing her asleep like that before, somewhere. 

"It should," Zedd sighed a little. "This is the one we fought against on Kalakan." 

Goldar frowned. "Huh? How? That was fifty thousand years ago!" 

"Time travel," Zedd said dryly, rolling his eyes at his henchidiot's brainlessness. _Why did I hire him, anyway? I can't even remember! It must not have been for his brains, that's for sure!_

Further conversation was stilled as Aura began to wake up. Her eyes opened, she raised her head, and looked around, paling as she realized where she was. "Hello, Aura," he said as gently as he could. _I don't want to frighten her, I love her. And I have her at last._

"What am I doing here?" she snapped. "Zedd! Where did you come from?" _Oh, sweet stars of heaven, he's back! Please, let him have forgotten me from Kalakan! I can't bear to have someone, him most of all, trying to take me from Billy again! _

He tried to smile, and failed miserably. "I came back for a reason, and you are that reason," he told her. "I'm certain we both remember our first meeting now, fifty thousand years ago: on Kalakan." 

Aura flinched away as he caressed her cheek; she felt like throwing up at the contact. "Let me go!" she snarled, pulling at the chains that bound her to the wall. She glanced at both wrists, wanting to get to her communicator to teleport out of there. 

"Looking for this?" Zedd asked, holding up a familiar object. Her eyes blazed with hatred at the sight of her communicator in his hands. 

"Give that back!" she demanded. "And let me out of here, what do you want, anyway? Didn't you torture me enough last time?" 

"Oh, I am sorry for that." He really didn't sound sorry for it, though. "But if I hadn't, we would have never met back then!" 

_And I wouldn't have minded that one bit!_ Aura screamed internally at him. She wanted nothing more than to be home right now, with her husband and family, far from this madman who just couldn't seem to take 'no' for an answer, be it whether she'd serve him or marry him. 

"And as for what I want," he continued. "I want you, and I have you." 

Aura shivered; she remembered what had happened with Galan, and prayed with all her soul that something similar wasn't going to happen with Zedd. She didn't think her sanity could survive that. "Didn't we go through this fifty thousand years ago?" 

Zedd nodded matter-of-factly. "Yes, but I'm not giving up. We are together, and there's nothing that can be done about that now. I am not giving up until you are mine, and I already have you here." 

"You're going to have to!" Aura declared. "I love Billy, and only Billy!" 

A chill went down her spine as Zedd said, "Then I shall dispose of him." _I wanted to anyway. This is simply a bonus; that she knows I shall._

"NO!" Aura screamed, pulling at the chains with all her might. She had to get free, had to get out of here and warn Billy of Zedd's return and desires! 

Goldar stepped up. "I'll do it for you, sire!" 

"Yes, do," Zedd laughed as he stepped closer to Aura. He seized the back of her head and forced her into a deep kiss. She looked about to pass out from sheer fear and disgust. He liked the way she looked like that. "Wait until he's alone, then do it." 

"Of course, sire," Goldar nodded. Aura snarled at them to leave Billy alone; she hated the thought of her beloved being harmed. 

"If he is what stands in the way of me having you, then so be it!" Zedd told her. He'd intended to kill Billy from the very moment he'd made his decision to return and take Aura for his own, if just for the audacity the Blue Ranger had possessed in wedding the Amber Ranger. 

Aura glared at him. "What makes you think I'd love you just because Billy is hurt or dead? I'd hate you even more!" she declared._ In fact, I'd be out for your blood! _

"We shall see!" Zedd kissed her again, holding her head so she had to stay still for it. He had so much more planned for them once Billy was disposed of as well. He had no intentions of ever letting Aura love anyone else but him, ever again. 

"I will never love you!" she declared. He chuckled; things were going just as he had planned.   
  


* * *

  


Billy sat, staring out the window, watching the passing of cars back and forth on the road outside. All three kids had finally fallen asleep, but not nearly as fast as they would have if Aura had been there. "Aura, I wish you had woken me up," he sighed. 

"Too bad she didn't!" It was a voice he knew, and didn't want to hear! Goldar! "You'll never see her again!" Goldar stood behind him, sword upraised and looking ready to destroy him. 

"What are you doing back?" Billy asked, going for his morpher. 

"Just on a mission from my master." Goldar began to stomp towards him, an evil smile on his lips. "Time to die, Ranger!" Billy just had time to morph before the mutant's huge sword slashed down to where he had been. Apparently Goldar didn't mind trashing his living room, since he began to tear up everything in sight trying to get to Billy. 

"You're going to die, Ranger! My master commands it!" Goldar roared as he sliced through a rocking chair Aura's grandmother had given them as a wedding present. Billy growled and was attacking with all of his strength as a voice came from behind Goldar. 

"Well, he's not going to get it!" 

"Who dares?" Goldar growled, turning around to see Adam's fist flying at him. Billy grinned as Goldar flew across the room. 

"I thought you could use a hand," Adam told his friend. Goldar made his way to his feet and glared at the Black Ranger. 

"How dare you?" Adam grinned innocently. 

"It was easy!" he told the hideous monster. Goldar ran at them both, sword outraised. 

"Then you die too!" 

His attack was met by Billy and Adam both, and as stupid as Goldar was, even he could figure out that he wasn't going to win this fight. Shaking a fist at Billy, he declared, "I'll be back, Rangers! Lord Zedd has ordered the Blue Ranger's demise!" He also wasn't stupid enough to hint in any way that Zedd had Aura prisoner in the Lunar Palace as he vanished. Zedd would have his hide if he did. 

As they demorphed, Adam looked to Billy. "I wonder why?" 

The Blue Ranger shrugged. "Who knows why Zedd does anything? I'm going to call Aura; see if everything's all right with her. If Zedd's back around, she needs to know about it." 

Both of the, looked worried when Billy received only static on his communicator as he tried to reach Aura. Adam tried to be hopeful. "Maybe that's what she's helping the Spirit with," he suggested. "Some sort of magnetic storm or something that's freaking up communications?" 

Somehow, Billy didn't believe it. "Let's get to the Command Center. Something's up and I want to know what it is."   
  


* * *

  


When Goldar returned to the moon, he was greeted by the sight of Aura doing the best she could to keep Zedd away as the lord of evil attempted to get too familiar with her. "I swear by everything I hold holy, Zedd, if you lay a hand on me one more time, I'm going to kick you so hard when you wake up that metal outfit of yours is going to be in style!" 

Zedd laughed. "I like your spirit, Aura. Too bad it's not going to last too much longer." 

Aura closed her eyes and swallowed hard._ This isn't happening. I'm having a very serious nightmare. I'm at home, with Billy and my children. _Zedd's icy voice relieved her of that notion and nearly gave her heart failure at the same moment. 

"Goldar, leave us. My long-awaited queen and I have some unfinished business that must be taken care of." 

Aura's head snapped up and her eyes flew open; she did not like the sound of that at all. She wasn't all that thrilled by the way Zedd was looking at her, either. She knew better than to ask Goldar for help, but maybe, just maybe she could call the Spirit of Earth. The Spirit had come to her on the moon before; she had to help her now! 

Zedd looked over to her, then casually slammed her head hard into the wall. Dazed from the hit, Aura didn't notice Goldar leaving the room or Zedd removing her chains and dragging her into another room, transforming back into the human form he'd worn fifty thousand years earlier. She did, however, notice what happened next, and her screams echoed in the lunar palace for hours.   
  


* * *

  


The Spirit of Earth stiffened for a moment. She had felt Aura trying to reach her. Something had interrupted her though. "She is not on Earth," the spirit whispered. "She is in danger; I can feel her fear and pain." 

_Aura? Aura, can you hear me? My sweet child, daughter of my soul, can you hear me at all? _There was no reply. The Spirit felt worry for one of the few times in her life. She rose to her feet, resolve filling her. _My child has been harmed._

"Shaya, Jessica," she spoke their names quietly as she brought them to the Heart of Earth. Both of them looked a little surprised at this, but she gave them no time to speak. "Aura needs us, dear ladies. She is hurt somehow, something is injuring her spirit and soul. We must find her." 

"Why us?" Jessica was quick to ask. "Won't the other Rangers be looking for her?" 

The Spirit shook her head. "They will be, but we can find her faster." 

Shaya nodded. "We are her mothers. I gave birth to her body, you raised her, Jessica, and the Spirit gave her a purpose. We are connected to her on levels that the Rangers' machines cannot begin to comprehend." 

Jessica frowned as she absorbed that. "So, what do we do?" 

The only reply she received was to suddenly be enveloped by the Spirit of Earth. _What the? _she thought. 

_What's going on? _that was unmistakably Shaya's mind/voice. _Spirit? _

_We are together. We must find Aura. Look within yourselves, and you will see that which you must. _In some way they both knew what she meant by 'look within themselves', and did so. They all knew she wasn't on Earth; that was simplicity itself to discover. _The moon. _None of them knew which of them had said/thought it. They were so closely together it didn't matter. They could see the moon, and the palace on it, as easily as if they were standing there; their awarenesses had pierced the veil of Earth's atmosphere with barely a conscious effort. _The lunar palace. _

As one, the three of them were moving within the palace. They swept past Goldar, snatching a snooze in Zedd's throne, then came to a closed and locked door. _She is in there. _That was the Spirit; her power and presence were evident. 

_As is Zedd. _Jessica didn't know how she knew this; something about being linked with the Spirit and Shaya had enhanced her senses to the point at which she could make no mistake. _That is why she is hurting. He's. . ._

All three of them stopped for a moment as the realization of what was happening swept over them. They could have only one reaction to that, one and only one. The reaction of every mother to seeing this happen to their child. 

Complete and utter rage. Insane fury. Rescue of the child. 

Needless to say, when Aura disappeared from her chains, Zedd was somewhat surprised, to put it mildly.   
  


* * *

  


Azure stood with the Rangers, past and present, at the Command Center, nervous and ready to jump out of her skin at a moment's notice. Adam and Billy had called them all there; telling them only that Goldar was back, and there was no trace of Aura anywhere in the world, not in the Heart of Earth, nowhere in Angel Grove, simply nowhere. 

"Did you check the lunar palace?" Tommy had an arm around Kim, as if to protect her from whatever had caused Aura to vanish so mysteriously. A scan of the note left with them had proven to be a magically created forgery, and Billy was scanning everywhere he could to find his wife. 

The Blue Ranger nodded his answer to Tommy's question. "And she's not there. No regions that Zedd's protecting, either, so it's not that." 

"Where is she?" Zack wondered; he'd already begun to pace about worriedly. "This is really getting too strange!" 

Azure was about to ask them to start checking other dimensions, when a trio of figures, shimmered into existence in the center of the room. Her jaw dropped in purest shock. "Mother?" she stammered a little. 

Jessica Robinson, Shaya Shaldar, and the Spirit of Earth stood in a row there. The Spirit carried something. . .no, someone, in her arms. Azure recognized it. . .no, her, by the cascades of black hair. Her heart almost stopped when she saw the bruises all over her sister's face and body. Alpha was already running over to scan her injuries and start to fix them. 

"Rangers," he said as the results came in. "Zedd. . .he. . .," it was obvious Alpha simply couldn't say the words, but they all knew what he meant. Azure went to her sister, tears shining in her eyes, shaking. 

"No, not Aura...This shouldn't have happened to you, too," she whispered. Aura lay unmoving, still unconscious within the Spirit's arms. "Why?" 

Silence reigned in the Command Center for what could've been hours as Alpha performed various tests and began the treatment of Aura's injuries. All this time, Aura neither moved nor spoke; dead stillness filled the air. 

So when a trembling, fear-filled voice whispered, "M. . .m. . .mother?" everyone turned to see Aura's eyes fluttering open. They were filled with a devastation beyond any they had ever imagined possible. 

Shaya's eyes widened briefly. "Aura?" she whispered, hardly daring to believe her eyes or ears. Aura was visibly forcing herself to move and speak, not letting the horrors Zedd had inflicted on her keep her down. 

"Mother. . .it's you," Aura reached out a shaking hand to her. "Mother. . . Zedd. . .he. . ." 

Shaya took her child's hand carefully and moved her hair away from her face, trying to soothe her. "Shhh. .. we know." 

Aura wrapped her arms around her mother and cried with all her heart. "Mother. . .I. . .I feel so. . .," she couldn't finish it, she simply cried with all the strength left to her. 

Shaya did her best to comfort her as Azure joined the small gathering. The other Rangers, even Billy, stayed out of the way, somehow sensing this was nothing they could help with. "Aura?" Azure called her name quietly. Aura managed to look at her sister, and Azure felt her heart nearly shatter at the sorrow and grief and fear in her gray eyes. 

"Azure. . .I. . .," Aura's voice trailed off again as tears once more overwhelmed her. Azure gripped her free hand. 

"It's me," she whispered. "You're okay now." 

With a little more strength in her voice, Aura shook her head in reply. "No. No, I'm not." _And I don't think I'll ever be okay again. _She looked up, only to be caught by the sorrow-filled eyes of the man she loved more than anyone in the universe. "Billy." she couldn't look at him. How could she ever look at him again? 

He was beside her in a moment. "Aura, I'm here." _I'm always here for you, you know that. And Zedd will pay for this._

"He. . .he said it was just to hurt me," she told them. "I thought it was over! Thought we'd finally reached the end of people wanting to hurt us. . .but. ..now. . ." Aura didn't protest as the Spirit helped her stand and Billy wrapped his arms around her. The Rangers saw then how strong Aura was as instead of flinching away, as many in her situation might have, she leaned against Billy and cried into him. 

"We'll fight him together," he assured her. "We'll fight together forever. And you're going to be all right, Aura. Just remember I love you." 

"We all do," Jason said softly. "No matter what."   
  


* * *

  


Zedd stared down at the Earth, watching the Amber Ranger force herself out of the near-catatonic state she'd slipped into while he'd still had her. "This can't be!" he growled, glowing red with fury. "This simply can't be!" 

"What is it, sire?" Goldar wasn't quite sure just on how Aura had escaped; all he knew was that Zedd had come storming out of the prison area furious over her disappearance. Whatever he'd been doing in there, it was plain to see Zedd wasn't done by the time she disappeared. Goldar had the very strong notion he didn't want to know what was going on in there either. 

Zedd glared from his henchmutant to the Earth and back again. "She is recovering." 

"I thought you said she wouldn't!" That had been one thing Goldar had gleaned from Zedd's ranting; whatever his master had done, he hadn't expected Aura to recover physically or emotionally from it. Zedd tapped his taloned fingers thoughtfully against the railing. 

"I need to make her go back," he mused. "I need to make her believe that it is all her fault." Zedd knew perfectly well what he'd done was wrong, and he really didn't care. The more he'd thought over the past fifty thousand years, and how she'd rejected him then, he'd decided on how to exact his revenge. He would destroy Aura body and soul, and this was his method. 

Goldar nodded. "Of course, my lord. How will you do this, though?" 

Zedd thought for a few minutes, then laughed. "I'm going to tell her that she wanted to be with me on Kalakan. . .that she was the one who enticed me! If that doesn't crush her spirit, nothing will!" 

"Of course, sire!" Goldar agreed heartily; whatever Zedd had in mind, it was evil, twisted, cruel, and viscous. Everything Goldar liked in a master evil plot. "You will be victorious!" 

Zedd chuckled low and evilly. He didn't much care anymore for the conquering of Earth. Getting revenge for the slight that had been done to him so many thousands of years prior was far more important now. He would not rest until one of three things happened: Aura became his of her own free will, she died by his own hands, or he himself died. 

And Lord Zedd had no intentions of dying.   
  


* * *

  


Two days had gone by, with the Rangers not letting Aura be alone for a single moment. She had made one of the most amazing recoveries they had ever seen, even from a Ranger, quite literally forcing herself to heal. 

"She's going to be all right," Billy whispered softly the second afternoon after her return. All the Rangers were gathered at Billy and Aura's house, keeping an eye on her and enjoying the peaceful moment while it lasted. "She's recovered so fast, I didn't think it would be possible after what happened to her." 

Azure sighed a little. "Facing something like that is never easy. She has a lot farther to go, and she knows it." She glanced over to see Aura leaning against Billy, half-asleep. She'd showed a tendency lately to fall asleep at odd hours, yet another part of her recovery. 

"Everyone out!" Azure declared. "She needs her rest!" 

In only a few moments, everyone had been herded out of the living room, and Aura lay asleep on the couch. To an onlooker, the horrors she had underwent two days prior weren't visible in any way, even the bruises had faded by now, thanks to the Spirit of Earth and her Ranger powers. 

Aura's slumber was broken abruptly by someone shaking her shoulder roughly. "Hello, my fair Aura," she looked straight into Zedd's hideous skinless face. Her heart almost stopped as she realized they were alone and he'd gagged her! 

_No! He's going to. . .Spirit, help me!!_ She wanted to call for the Spirit, only to find she was panicking too badly with Zedd's face inches from her own. Zedd spoke again. 

"There is something I think you should know. About what really happen on Kalakan." He enjoyed a good lie, especially when the person he was lying to was going to deny it. Aura shook her head violently, doing her best to back away from him. "You are such a tease," he grinned, seizing her by the shoulders firmly to prevent her escape. She started to reach for her gag, but Zedd was having none of that as he grabbed her hands firmly. "Oh, no, you don't!" He wasn't going to let her start screaming and drawing in the other Rangers. He grinned wickedly at her. "You were coming onto me on Kalakan, my dear Aura. You were so enticing there in your father's training room, do you remember?" 

He managed to make out a stifled "No!" through her gag, along with a few insults that actually made him wince. He grinned at her; if she hadn't been gagged, he might have kissed her, just to see the horror grow in her eyes. 

"Oh, but yes," he almost purred. He was considering removing the gag, risking her screams, when a sharp voice interrupted him. 

"Zedd! I thought I heard your voice!" 

He turned to see Shaya standing there, eyes blazing with fury. "Ah, the pesky sorceress! Or should I say former sorceress!" 

Shaya stepped towards him. "Get out of here and leave my daughter alone! You've done enough to her, more than enough!" 

"I haven't even begun!" he promised her. "It was thanks to your spell I forgot her all these thousands of years. But now that I have remembered, she will pay for her rejection of me!" 

Shaya glared. "You haven't changed in fifty thousand years!" 

"And I do not plan on changing now!" His staff became a sword in midswing, which stopped a hair's breadth from Shaya's neck. "Some other time!" He vanished a moment later, and Shaya hurried over to Aura, freeing her from the gag. 

"Are you all right?" the Kalakan sorceress asked her daughter. Aura nodded, then her eyes widened suddenly and she got to her feet. 

"I heard something. From Azure's room!" Shaya blanched as she remembered she'd put Eric in there for a nap earlier. 

Side by side, they dashed into the room to see Zedd standing there with the toddling Eric in his arms. Aura tried to get in, only to find the door blocked by a barrier she couldn't pass. 

"Time to return to normal, my son!" Zedd hissed. A strange red glow surrounded him, and a moment later, Eric stood there, his full age again. 

"Uhhh. ..ahhh. . .F.. Father?" Eric whispered as his vocal cords and memories flooded back to full use. 

"Welcome back, my son," Zedd would've been smiling if he were capable of it. He'd finally retrieved his offspring! Eric frowned briefly. 

"T. .the last thing I remember was falling into the Fountain of Youth!" 

Zedd nodded. "I tried to retrieve you, but couldn't until just now." 

"How long has it been?" his son wondered. Zedd growled his reply, remembering the frustration and the anger he'd been put through. 

"Almost two years! Shaya has kept you hidden until now!" he laughed to himself; his abuse of Aura had given him the chance to have his son back! 

"Where's Aura?" Eric wanted to know. "She's the one who tripped me into the fountain! I want revenge! And I want Azure too!" 

Zedd laughed; his son hadn't changed a bit! Shaya's "good influence" obviously hadn't worked! "You will have it, Eric, you will have it!" 

"Don't you ever give up, Zedd?" Shaya cried. Eric and his father both turned to look at them, and Zedd laughed visciously. 

"No! And now I have my son back! If you thought the last thing I did to you was bad, Aura, you have no idea of what is to come!" Cold laughter filled the room as Zedd and Eric vanished. Aura looked at her mother, panic rising in her eyes. Shaya took a deep breath and let it out slowly. 

Aura closed her eyes, unwillingly reliving the nightmare Zedd had put her through most recently. _Never again,_ she thought to herself. _You will be stopped, Zedd. This time for good. I swear it. If it costs me my life and sanity, you will be stopped. You must be. _

**The End**


	32. Revenged Amber

**Revenge Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

Things were going just splendidly for Zedd and Eric, who had finally been restored to his full adult form. As Zedd told his son all of the events of the past two years, and of the past two days, Eric found himself laughing with evil. "You actually did that to Aura?" 

Zedd nodded, grinning coldly. "How did she enjoy it?" his son wanted to know. 

"She went catatonic. . .for a while," Zedd growled a bit as he remembered how Aura had forced herself back to full wakefulness and activity. She had spirit: too much spirit! Well, he'd soon fix that. Once she was thoroughly punished for rejecting him in the past, he would have her forever. He continued updating his son. "Azure married the Black Ranger; they also have a child," he knew Eric would want to know that. 

"How dare she marry anyone but me?" Eric couldn't believe this had happened! His father smiled. 

"Time for revenge?" 

"Yes!" Eric nodded fiercely. "Do you have something in mind?" 

Zedd laughed, he had missed this so much! His son was back with him at last! "Indeed I do! Those sisters will pay for everything they have done to us!"   
  


* * *

  


Azure and Aura were in the Cranstons' house, with Aura watching as Azure cooked dinner. She and Adam were going to be staying over for dinner; Adam had went out to pick up some things for the meal; Billy was going to be coming home later. "It's good to see you smiling again," Azure smiled as she stirred the pasta. 

"It's good to smile again!" Aura absolutely refused to let what Zedd had done to her keep her down. Azure smiled and came over to sit next to her. 

"I guess you now know what I went through, and I know what you went through," Azure touched her sister's hand gently. Aura sighed softly. 

"I wish we both didn't know this now," she said. What Zedd had done had come close to destroying her sanity; she refused to let it happen. She would not let him win this battle, of all battles. 

"I know," Azure agreed as she returned to the food, humming a tune from the show she was currently involved in. Aura and Shaya had told her that Zedd had recovered Eric, but she wasn't going to let this stop her anymore than Aura was going to let Zedd stop her. 

"Hello, Azure!" Eric was suddenly next to her. "Long time no see!" 

Aura was on her feet a second later. "Eric!" was all she managed to say as Eric waved Zedd's staff and froze her where she stood. 

"No!" Azure screamed; she wasn't going to let Eric hurt her sister. Her nemesis laughed. 

"Oh, I'm not going to bother with her. It's not her I want!" 

Azure backed away from him, shaking so badly she knocked the pot of water and pasta onto her arm, screaming in pain as she was burned. "Awww," Eric stepped closer to her. "Did you hurt yourself? Once we're married, I'll fix that!" 

"You're a bit late, I'm already married!" Azure snapped. Eric pulled her close to him, forcing a kiss. 

"Oh, I can change that!" 

"I will not leave Adam, or my child!" Azure declared. She had searched a long time for a man as good as Adam was, and she loved him with all her heart. She was barely able to stop herself from screaming as Eric dragged her into another room. 

"You don't get it," Eric forced another kiss, he enjoyed this! "I'm not asking you!" he growled as she bit his tongue in the middle of their kiss. He slapped her hard. "Don't do that again!" 

He glared at her suddenly, filled with one emotion he'd never thought he could have towards her: hatred. It suddenly no longer mattered to him if he took her or not: he wanted her dead now. She was just too much trouble. He snapped his fingers and a sharp-bladed knife appeared in his hand. "You will be rid of me, Azure. Or more precisely: I'm going to be rid of you!"   
  


* * *

  


Aura was doing her best to break the spell that froze her, to no avail. She could hear Azure fighting with Eric, and wished with all her heart she could be there to help her sister. She wished it even more when Zedd appeared in front of her. "Oh, this is perfect!" he gloated. "I can tell you my side of the story of what really happen on Kalakan!" 

He began to spin a little story for her, where she had excited and aroused him with her katas and beauty. She glared at him, hate filling those gray eyes. He could tell she was paying no attention to him whatsoever. "There is little you can do her," he told her. "She will either join Eric in marriage, or suffer the consequences," she glared at him again, wanting nothing more than to destroy him and his son at that moment. "Maybe I should let you speak," he observed, bending the spell enough so that she could. 

"W. . .why are you doing this to us?" Aura asked, wondering how long it would take the Rangers to get to them if she were able to warn them. 

"I told you, revenge! You jilted me fifty thousand years ago. Once you've been properly punished for that. . .," he ran his fingers through her hair, grinning nastily. "Then we have fun." 

Aura's head would've snapped up the next moment if it could have as she heard a blood-curdling scream from the bedroom. "Azure!" she wailed, every instinct in her urging her to run towards her sister. 

Eric entered the room, an unfamiliar knife in his hand: an unfamiliar, bloody knife. "NO!" Aura screamed. "No, you didn't!" _Azure! My sister! NO! Please, no!_ 

"She refused," Eric shrugged. "I got tired of playing her." 

Tears flowed freely as Aura glared at her enemies. "No. .no. . Azure. .. no. I'll get you for this, both of you!" 

As they disappeared, Aura found herself unfrozen, and wasted no time getting into the bedroom. Azure lay on the floor, unconscious and losing blood fast. Aura growled under her breath, then hit her communicator. "Guys! Eric stabbed Azure; meet me at the hospital as fast as you can!" 

_If she dies. . .by all that's holy in the universe, Zedd and Eric will pay for it with THEIR lives! NO MATTER WHAT IT COSTS ME!_   
  


* * *

  


Adam and Zack came running in less than ten minutes after Aura's frantic call to them. The current and former Black Rangers had become good friends over the past few months, and when they'd run into each other at the store, had struck up a conversation interrupted by Aura's cry. "How is she?" Adam asked the minute he saw Aura. 

The Amber Ranger shook her head; Adam had never seen her this upset. "I don't know. They haven't said anything yet!" 

"What happened?" 

"Eric happened," Aura told them. "If she dies. . .I. . .I. . .," 

Zack wondered, "Who is this Eric guy anyway?" 

"Her ex-boyfriend," Aura told her friend, glancing around to see if anyone was close enough to hear her. They were disappointed, almost, to see Lieutenant Stone, Bulk, and Skull coming towards them. 

"Excuse me, Mr. Park?" he said as he got closer. He glanced over at Aura. "Are you the person who called in the stabbing?" 

She nodded. "Yes, I'm Aura Cranston." 

"I believe you already know these two," he said, glancing to Bulk and Skull. ""What happened exactly, Mrs. Cranston?" 

"It was Eric Matthews, Azure's ex-boyfriend," she began the story she'd thought of while waiting, one carefully edited not to include Zedd in it at all. "We haven't heard from him in about two years. He showed up at the house and started to harass Azure. I tried to get him to leave, and was about to go call the cops when someone, I couldn't see who it was, grabbed me and tied me up. I never saw their face. Eric dragged Azure out of the room, I heard her screaming, and a few seconds later, he came back out with a bloody knife. He and his accomplice left; I didn't see which way they went, and I managed to get free. I ran into the other room, saw Azure, and called the hospital at once." 

The officer nodded. "You lived in New York at one time, was this where Azure knew this Eric Matthews from?" 

Aura nodded. "I can give you a fully detailed description of Eric. His accomplice, I never saw him. Eric had followed us to Angel Grove a couple of years ago, then vanished one day. We hoped we'd seen the last of him then." 

"Thanks," the lieutenant nodded. Skull glanced over to Adam; he and Bulk had grown up a lot over the past few years. 

"We'll find him, this is a promise!" 

Adam smiled a bit weakly. "I hope you do," _But I doubt you will. You're not going to be able to find him._ 

Zack heard what Aura growled under her breath, though no one else did. "Eric better hope they find him before I do!" Zack put a hand on Aura's shoulder, then glanced to Skull. 

"Thanks, we appreciate it." 

"Mr. Adam Park?" the doctor had joined them. Adam looked up hopefully. 

"Yes?" 

"We have her stabilized," the doctor reported. "There was a lot of damage there, but she's going to live. And. . .there's a chance your wife might not be able to have children again. You can go in and see her, but she's in a coma at the moment; she's lost a lot of blood." 

Aura was shaking with anger, just barely able to keep herself under control. "If I get my hands on him!" as Adam headed for Azure's hospital room, Aura sank into a chair, dissolving into tears. 

Zack held her as best he could. "She'll be just fine. And we'll find this jerk, and take care of him once and for all." 

Aura sighed deeply; what had happened to her was nothing compared to this attempted murder of Azure. _Zedd and Eric will pay. I'll see to it myself. With a little help from my ancestors._   
  


* * *

  


"So, she is in a coma?" Zedd laughed as he watched the little tableau in the hospital. "And those blasted police officers think they can arrest the son of Lord Zedd!" 

"I've left their petty little laws behind forever!" Eric declared. He glanced down at Earth again. "I wonder if we can put Aura in the same state as her sister?" 

Zedd suggested, "Let us see if her sister survives. Cause if she doesn't, Aura will destroy herself!" 

"Those two never could get along without each other!" Eric smiled nastily. "Father, shall we make certain Azure doesn't survive her coma?" at his father's nod, Eric did an evil grin worthy of his lineage. "I want the honor of killing her myself!" 

Zedd nodded again. "When she is alone, go and pull the plug!" _And we'll be rid of Azure and Aura's will to resist me will be gone forever!_   
  


* * *

  


Azure lay quietly hooked up to machines as Adam sat beside her, his hand wrapped around hers. "Oh, Azure, please, wake up!" he barely noticed the nurse coming in to check the IV in Azure's hand. "Azure, we're going to get him, somehow!" 

"Adam?" the voice came from behind him; he turned to see Zack there, looking worried. 

"Zack, we have to do something!" 

Zack came to stand beside him. "There isn't much we can do. Adam, this is something that's going to take time to heal. Not only emotionally, but physically as well. Especially if she can't carry anymore children," he smiled briefly, remembering how Azure had told him once how many children she wanted. "She always wanted a big family." 

"We'll adopt, or something," Adam sighed, not taking his eyes off Azure for a moment. He couldn't; if he did, she might slip away from him. 

Zack sat down in a spare chair. "But think how she is going to feel? I was talking to Kat about how excited she was when she got out of the hospital the last time. To actually know she had a child in her, and now this. . .," 

Adam sighed. "I know." 

"Why do I also get the feeling that this isn't the first time something like this has happened? This Eric has been around before, hasn't he?" 

Adam nodded briefly, and Zack glanced towards Azure quickly. Almost as if he didn't care who answered, he asked, "Why didn't you ever tell us?" 

"She doesn't like to talk about it," Adam told him. "It was a long time before she even told Aura about it," he quickly filled his predecessor in on the full details of Eric's existence. Zack paled a little learning his old enemy Zedd had a son. 

"Man," he muttered. "Wish they had told us this before!" 

Adam had already turned his gaze back to Azure. "I don't know what I'll do if she dies!" 

"She won't," Zack reassured him. _You'd better not, girl, or I'm going to have some serious explaining to do to Adam!_ 

"I hope not!" Adam sighed. "Oh, I hope not!" 

"Come on," Zack tried to get him up. "Visiting hours are almost over. You need some sleep, and I'm gonna make sure you get it." 

Adam couldn't help but smile. "You're just like Aura was, the last time Azure was in the hospital." 

As he pulled out his keys, Zack smiled. "We're good friends. Come on." 

They headed out to the car, Zack intent on making certain Adam got some serious rest. He needed it. Badly.   
  


* * *

  


Eric appeared next to Azure and grinned coldly at the comatose young woman. "I do such good work," he looked at the comatose young woman as he prepared to terminate her. "You should've said yes. I might have let you live then." 

He started to pull the plug, when the door swung open. Eric jerked the cord out just as Zack stepped into the room, looking for the wallet he'd dropped. The former Black Ranger growled, and slammed Eric into the far wall. 

"Get off me!" Eric pushed Zack away just as Azure's heart monitor began to whine a tone that frightened Zack. He balled up his fist and nearly knocked Eric through the wall this time! No one hurt one of his friends! 

Eric growled, groped his way to his feet, and would've killed this upstart human, if his father hadn't teleported him back in that same moment. As the doctors ran in, working to stabilize Azure, Zack ran out, back to the car where Adam had fallen into a half-doze. 

"You'd better hurry," Zack said, waking him up. "Azure was almost killed." 

Adam beat Zack back to the room. 

They were met by a doctor coming out. He looked seriously at Adam for a moment. "Mr. Park, we were lucky. I don't know if we can save her next time." 

Zack took a deep breath, thanking his lucky stars he had plugged the cord Eric had ripped out back in before calling for the doctor. He didn't want them to be thinking he was the one who had done it. Adam sat next to his wife, holding her hand once more. Sleep was forgotten, all he wanted to do was be with her now. 

"Azure, please," he whispered. "Don't leave me." 

As the doctors left, Zack sat next to Adam again. "I think it as Eric," he whispered, describing what had happened. At Adam's request, he described who he'd seen. 

"That was Eric," Adam confirmed. _Why can't he ever leave us alone? Ever?_ 

"Next time I see him, I got a personal score to settle," Zack promised. "He tried to pull the plug on her." 

Adam stared ceaselessly at Azure. _Oh, Azure. Come back to me. I love you. I won't let him hurt you anymore. Ever. Just come back to me._   
  


* * *

  


Over the next two months, Adam and Aura kept a constant watch over Azure. The doctors were keeping too close of an eye on her for Aura to become the Guardian and heal her sister, though she wanted to. It was simply too dangerous; the Rangers' secret could be discovered if someone walked in at the wrong moment, and people were going in and out of Azure's room the whole time. 

"Azure, please wake up," Adam had been urging Azure to wake up for the past two months. "Wake up." 

Zack had been with him the whole time, even now. "Adam, come on, let's go get you something to eat," Adam had left the room roughly once a day; he looked awful. 

"I don't want to leave her," Adam shook his head. "If she wakes up while I'm gone. . ." 

"You can't starve," Zack told him. "Let me go get Trini to stay with her, and you come get some food." 

Adam was about to get up, when a soft groan froze him where he stood. Zack glanced over; there was no change he could see in Azure. "Come on!" 

Azure raised an arm a little, and Adam grasped her hand. " Azure! You wake up, please! Azure, I love you! Please, wake up! Look, Zack, she's waking up!" 

"I see," Zack said softly. Azure's hand fell back to the bed as she groaned again. 

"Azure," Adam begged. "Please, say something!" 

Azure's lips quivered, and a single low word issued. "No. .. " 

"Azure," Adam whispered. "It's me, Adam!" she was trembling, trembling hard enough to shake the bed. Again she whispered 'no'. "He's not here, Azure, he's not here! It's me and Zack!" Azure's eyes went wide as Adam whispered, "Azure?" in a hope-filled voice. Azure's eyed returned to normal, as once more she whispered 'no'. "Azure, please! He's not here!" he looked over to Zack. "Go find Aura, maybe she can help!" as Zack ran out, Adam kept encouraging her. "Azure, please, stay awake! He's not here, you're safe, you're safe with me!" he repeated that over and over until Zack came in with Aura, followed by all the other Rangers, past and present. 

"Azure!" Aura ran to her sister, heart pounding with hope and fear mixed. Azure only looked at the ceiling. "Azure, please it's me, Aura! Please, don't shut us out!" _I can't bear that, none of us can!_ Azure cringed away from her. "Shhhh. . .you're going to be okay." 

"Aura," Azure whispered, recognizing her at last. Aura just managed not to clench her fists in rage, all she wanted to do right now was hurt those who had put her sister into this state. 

"It's me, Azure," Aura reassured her. "I'm here." _And Zedd and Eric won't be for long if I have anything to say about it!_ 

Azure fixed her eyes on Adam, who took her hand gently. "Oh, Azure, he's not here! He won't be here, ever! We won't let him come near you!" 

"You're safe," Aura nodded. Azure shook her head, she knew better, she believed. 

"I'm not," she whispered. Aura knelt beside the bed, looking into her sister's shadowed eyes. 

"Yes you are. I won't let anyone hurt you ever again. No matter what," the Amber Ranger promised. In that moment, Aura's half-formed decision to deal with their enemies became a resolve as hard as diamond. 

"I'll never be safe again," Azure whispered, crying with all the grief within her. She knew where Eric had struck her, and knew the odds were slim now she would ever have another child. "I can't even sleep! My dreams. . ." 

A soft breeze blew through the room suddenly, and everyone looked up to see the Spirit of Earth standing there. Aura's eyes widened, she had never seen the Spirit look so tenderly concerned, not even to her! 

"I can block your dreams, Azure," the Spirit said. "Until you are ready to face them." 

The younger girl looked up, hope filling her eyes. "You would do that for me?" 

"I am the Spirit and Mother of the Earth. You are as much my child as Aura is," the Spirit smiled gently. "Yes." 

"Thank you," Azure nodded her acceptance of the offer. Aura could feel a strange resolve coming from the Spirit; she would never let her sister die, Aura realized. The Spirit touched Azure's forehead lightly, and a soft glow surrounded them both. 

"It is done," the Spirit said. "You will not dream until you wish to now," Azure slipped at once into a deep sleep as the Spirit turned to everyone else. "She will sleep and heal. She will, in time, be fine." 

"Thank you," Adam said softly. The Spirit smiled and glanced at the ex-Rangers, who were wide-eyed in shock. 

"It is a pleasure to meet you, young warriors. You have served my world well. I thank you." 

Jason nodded, shocked to some degree. "You're welcome," seemed to be all he could say. The Spirit nodded. 

"I am the Spirit of the Earth, the spiritual part of Aura's powers, as she is the physical defender of the world." 

"She told us of you," Jason replied as he began to recover from the shock of seeing this near-divine being. The Spirit chuckled lightly, then caressed Aura's cheek in greeting and farewell mixed. _When you need me, dear child, you have but to call. But be warned: blind rage can destroy as easily as a blade._ 

"I must go," the Spirit said aloud. "I cannot remain long away from my home in the Heart. But all of you should rest." Zack glanced to Adam, as did the Spirit. 

"We all will," the former Ranger promised. Adam was still watching Azure, now as she slept a deep, healing sleep. 

"You had better," was the last thing the Spirit said before fading away. Jason came over to Adam, urging him to his feet yet again. 

"Come on, Adam, time to get some rest! You heard what the Spirit said, she's going to be all right!" 

Adam glanced up. "All right," he finally gave in to the inevitable as he looked back down to Azure. "I'll be back soon." 

"Not until you've slept," Trini said firmly. Adam resigned himself to eating and sleeping, and as they left the hospital with him firmly in tow, none of them noticed Aura slipping away into the shadows.   
  


* * *

  


Zedd laughed as he watched Azure recover from her coma at last. He and Eric had spend the last two months getting to know each other again, and plotting out more ways to torment the Rangers. "Poor little Azure!" he gloated. "Scared of even her husband!" 

"I did an excellent job on her!" Eric complimented himself. His father was every bit as self-congratulatory. 

"Pity for her and her sister that it's not even anywhere near over for them!" 

"Do you have anything in particular in mind?" Eric wondered. "Azure's going to live! So Aura won't kill herself!" 

Zedd nodded. "We shall wait. I take it you no longer desire Azure for your bride?" that was one thing that had never been discussed over the past two months. 

"I had too much fun trying to kill her," Eric shook his head. "I want to finish the job!" _I never realized murder could be so fun!!!_ 

"Then you shall!" Zedd promised. "Slowly!" as Eric and Zedd laughed, gray eyes blazed with rage at them. 

"No way!" Aura snarled as she entered the room, barely able to keep herself under control. She'd managed to talk Alpha and Zordon into teleporting her here, she could only hope her ancestors would help her. She felt on the edge of insanity, only one thought really made it through: that those who had harmed her sister must be punished. 

Eric stalked towards her, growling, "You're not wanted here!" Aura growled something unintelligible as she ran towards them, intent on only one thing. "Oh, all this over what I did to her! You'd think murder was a crime!" as Aura came closer, he smiled a little; she was completely unguarded, and he had the chance to get a little revenge. He slammed a powerful kick in the same area Aura had kicked him in several times, then followed it up with a hard punch to her stomach. "Now you know how I felt!" he told her as she groaned on the floor. 

Aura fought to get back up to her feet, and started to concentrate, calling on the power of the Amber Rangers who had come before her. Her concentration shattered when Zedd suddenly grabbed and kissed her deeply. Aura punched him as hard as she could in the guts, then almost regretted it when Eric used the staff to shackle her to the floor. "Amber Ranger Power!" she wanted to morph, to get out of here! 

She almost lost her sanity when she realized she hadn't morphed: and why. They were in the room Galan had enchanted with his anti-morphing magic: the one room she could not morph in, that no Ranger could morph in! 

Zedd looked at her, a wicked smile on his face as he ran a hand across her cheek, down her neck, and kept going. Aura screamed, doing her best to fight back, but to no avail. He looked over to his son. "I've been planning something for her for some time now. A trip down memory lane! With stops at all the very bad neighborhood!" 

He took his staff from Eric and pointed it at Aura, who had time for one last scream before the magic enveloped her. Zedd laughed as her eyes faded into blankness. "What did you do to her, Father?" Eric wondered, looking down at the Amber Ranger. 

"She is reliving everything that has ever terrified or hurt her in her life. From the moment I first controlled her to our last little encounter. You wouldn't believe all the hideous times in her life. But she will believe them: for she will relive them all, forever! An endless loop of memories, a loop that can never be broken!" Zedd looked down at her again, then smiled. "Time to send her back. The Rangers won't be able to help her, and she is useless to them now! And with her out of the way, her sister will never recover!" 

"We'll finally be rid of them!" Eric proclaimed. His father chuckled. 

"Eventually. I want to torture them more, first!" Zedd declared. He explained what else he had in mind to Eric, who laughed hideously. 

"I am so proud to be the son of such evil!" he declared. Life hadn't been this fun since he'd discovered who he really was! As Zedd prepared to send Aura back, he chuckled. "I can't wait to see how the Rangers react to this!" _Something they can't fight, something they can't fix! The Amber Ranger, defeated at last, trapped in eternal memories!_ 

"Neither can I!" Zedd transported Aura back to her own home, seeing that Billy and Rocky were just about to arrive there. He had kept one thing from his son, one thing only, one small thing. He could break the loop Aura was in, and would, once she had learned her lesson. He smiled to himself. Things were going just as he had planned for them to.   
  


* * *

  


Rocky and Billy headed up the walk and into the house. "I hope Adam can get some sleep," Rocky mused as they came inside. Billy nodded. 

"So do I. Jason will see to it that he does, though," the Blue Ranger sighed; he hadn't seen Aura since they'd left the hospital, and hoped she was all right. She'd been withdrawn from him the past few weeks, deep in her own thoughts. 

"Even if he has to knock him out," Rocky chuckled a little, then noticed there was a light on in the master bedroom. "I think Aura's home." 

Billy glanced over. "I wonder what she's been up to. She's hardly talked to me much lately," he headed over to the door and knocked lightly. "Aura?" 

There was no response. Rocky felt a thin thread of fear going down his spine. "Why do I not like this?" 

Billy knocked again harder, only to once again receive no answer. "Now I know I don't like this!" Rocky muttered. With a roundhouse kick, Billy knocked the door off it's hinges, and gasped at the sight that greeted him. 

Aura, bruised and beaten, lay on the floor. "Aura!" Billy screamed. He ran over to her as Rocky ran to call an ambulance. "Aura!" he tried to get her to wake up, but she simply lay there, unmoving, barely breathing. 

"There's an ambulance on the way," Rocky reported. He saw something Billy didn't: Aura's eyes were utterly blank. Not filled with the horror and denial that had been there after Zedd had captured her the last time, but totally blank. _As if there's no one in her mind at all._ "Why are they doing this to them?" he whispered, half to himself. 

"I don't know," Billy shook his head as he rocked Aura against him, tears flowing. "They don't deserve this, either of them!" 

That was how the paramedics found them a few minutes later, with Aura in Billy's arms, Billy crying, and Rocky standing a watchful guard over them both.   
  


* * *

  


The emergency room at Angel Grove Memorial hadn't seen quite this much activity from the same family in months. Hours after Azure Robinson Park had awakened from her coma, Aura Robinson Cranston was brought in, apparently in one. 

Lieutenant Stone, who had hospital duty that week along with Bulk and Skull, stared at the comatose young woman. "Oh, man!" he groaned. "I don't believe this!" 

Skull glanced over at him; Bulk was on duty in front of Azure's door. "You don't think that it's the same guy who did this to Azure?" from where they were, they couldn't see how injured she was, but things didn't look good. 

"I don't know," Lt. Stone shook his head. "But we've got to find that guy." 

Skull nodded. "The sooner, the better," he said as he went over to Rocky. "What happened?" 

Rocky sighed a little; this wasn't going to be easy to explain. "We don't know for sure. Billy and I came back to his place, and found Aura like that. There's some bruises and cuts on her, but other than that, nothing we could see. That's why we brought her here, in case there are more injuries we can't see." 

"You don't think that the guy who did that to Azure, did it to her sister?" 

Rocky managed to control his facial features, just barely. "I don't know, but if we find out that he did. . .," _Eric or Zedd had something to do with this, I know. But I can't tell him that._ 

Skull put a surprisingly comforting hand on Rocky's shoulder. "Let us arrest him," Rocky nodded briefly, not letting himself show what he was thinking. "How is Billy handling all this?" 

"Not good," Rocky sighed a little. He didn't want to tell Skull about what else had happened to Aura at Zedd's hands and was glad all her physical injuries from that and the month she'd spent in his prison cell had healed to nonexistence. 

Skull nodded. "I don't blame him. I was in total shock when I found out about Azure, but with this happening to Aura. Whoever's responsible for this is inhuman!" 

That's one way to put it! Rocky sighed. "Whatever punishment that they get couldn't be enough." 

Lt. Stone nodded. "I know that. What makes a person do this?" 

This was one thing Rocky could say in complete honesty. "Wanting to hurt someone else." 

The lieutenant's watch beeped suddenly, and he looked at Skull. "Time to go relieve Bulk. I'm going to stay here, and get someone on Aura's door." 

Rocky sighed a little. "I've got to go tell the others. Let us know if there's any change, in either of them, please." 

"I will," Lt. Stone headed off towards the emergency room, hoping he'd be able to give some good news once he'd seen Aura and the doctors.   
  


* * *

  


Rocky paced back and forth in the Command Center, nervously awaited the arrival of the other Rangers, past and present. This was going to be a major blow to them all. _I wish I knew how it happened._ 

One by one, the others teleported in. Rocky didn't even chuckle at the sight of Adam in sweat pants, and nothing else. Rubbing sleep out of his eyes, the Black Ranger asked, "What's up?" 

"Bad news," Rocky reported. "Very bad." 

Adam's eyes went wide and he shook with nervousness. "Nothing's happened to Azure, has it?" _Oh, please, God, don't let anything have happened to her!_ 

Rocky shook his head. "No. . .Aura. . .we. . .," he couldn't keep going, tears choked him up at the memory of his friend so still, so very still. 

"Aura?" Zack asked. "What happened?" 

Rocky took a deep breath; he had to tell them. "Aura. . .we think Zedd got to her again. Somehow. She's catatonic, or close to it, I don't know how to describe it. She's not moving, and the way she looks. . .it's like there's no one home in her mind, at all." 

The young people looked at each other, shock and disbelief filling every face. Tears rolled down Adam's cheeks. "Why?" he whispered. "Why are they doing this to us?" 

"I don't know," Rocky sighed. "I wish I did." 

Aisha wanted to know something. "How'd he get to he again? She was. . .," she paused for a moment, trying to remember the last time she'd seen the sworn Ranger of the Earth. "Well, where was she?" 

RANGERS, I BELIEVE I KNOW HOW THEY GOT TO AURA. Zordon spoke up. Aura had asked him not to tell them where she was going or why, but she hadn't expected this to happen, he knew. She hadn't been thinking rationally, and he really had no power to stop her. SHE HAD GONE TO THE LUNAR PALACE, WANTING TO SUMMON HER ANCESTORS UPON THEM. I KNEW I COULD NOT PREVENT HER FROM DOING SO. 

"She. . .she was going to kill them," Rocky had never imagined Aura was capable of murderous rage, but this proved she was. He really wasn't sure how to take that, from the looks of the others, none of them were. 

"I don't blame her!" Zack growled. The things that had happened lately had infuriated them all beyond anything they had ever believed possible. 

"Neither do I!" Adam snapped. Everyone there agreed; even Zordon. Zedd and Eric had gone far beyond what they ever had before. It was no longer an attack on the Earth; it had become a personal war. And there was only one way for something like that to end. 

Kim observed, "Something must have happened while she was there. I know Aura, she doesn't give in easily, especially not now." 

"She was probably too upset to be thinking straight," Jason suggested. It was the only answer any of them could come up with; normally Aura planned an attack with the cold precision that came from coming from the longest line of Power Rangers in the universe. 

Adam looked at them all, fear in his eyes. "How are we going to tell Azure what happened?" 

Tommy paled. "Man, I don't know!" 

"This is going to push her over the edge," Adam sighed. The sisters were just as close now as they had been as children. This was going to devastate Azure, to say the very least. 

Kat nodded. "This isn't easy. You know, Zedd hasn't sent any monsters since he came back. He's been concentrating on Aura and Azure. So has Eric." 

"It's like he wants to torture us, mostly them!" 

Rocky nodded at Aisha's statement. "I don't think he's going to stop until he's destroyed them utterly, or until something stops him!" 

"Then we stop them," Adam stated flatly. "Somehow." Despite their rage, it went against everything they believed in to make the first offensive move. If they managed to take out Zedd and Eric in a battle that their enemies started, so be it. 

Tommy nodded. "Come on, let's go see Aura. Maybe we can figure out some way to help her come out of whatever Zedd's done to her this time." 

Adam glanced down at his state of near-undress. "I'll meet you there. I don't think they'll let me in with just my sweat pants on."   
  


* * *

  


"Any news?" Adam asked a few minutes later as he ran, fully dressed, back into the hospital. Rocky shook his head sadly. 

"Nothing yet." 

Adam groaned in regret, then glanced over to see Lieutenant Stone and a doctor heading over to them. "This doesn't look good," he muttered. It was the doctor who had taken care of Azure, and was now looking after her sister. He spoke as soon as he was over to them. 

"Mr. Cranston?" he glanced at Billy, who stood up in response to his name. "Physically, your wife is unharmed. Mentally, that's what's scaring me. She's not there at all. She isn't responding to anything, and her brainwaves seem to indicate she's in some form of. .. well, trance for lack of a better word." 

"Can I see her?" Billy whispered, his heart pounding. "Maybe I can help bring her back." _What have you done to her, Zedd? What have you done now?_ 

The doctor nodded. "She's in the room across from her sister," he told the young husband. As Billy went to go see her, Adam glanced to the others, shaking a little. 

"I don't want to be the one to tell Azure this," he sighed. How was she going to react to knowing this had happened to her sister? The doctor's voice broke into his thoughts. 

"Mr. Park," he said gently. "There's more bad news." 

_More? What else could've happened to Azure?_ "More?" he asked, stammering almost in his fear. "Azure's. .. not. . ." 

The doctor took a deep breath. "The final results are in. She can't have children; the knife severed parts of her womb that we can't repair. I wish there was some good news, but. . .," 

Adam looked up, tears in his eyes. "She's alive. That's all that matters to me right now," he told the doctor as he stood up and headed for his wife's room. It was a very sober batch of Rangers who watched him go.   
  


* * *

  


Zedd watched the little tableau in the hospital with his customary evil gaze. "Perfect!" he congratulated his son. Even if Azure lived, she would never have another child! That in itself was a victory! 

"I wonder how long it'll take them both to just die!" Eric mused, tapping his finger in deep thought. His lips curved into a cold grin as an idea occurred to him. "Father. Billy and Adam have only seen the results of what we've done. Let's go down and visit the girls personally with them there to see it." 

Zedd nodded; he grew more and more proud of his son with every passing moment. "You are thinking like your father. We shall freeze the Rangers, and those two buffoons guarding them. That way, they can't do anything about it!" 

"I hope you enjoy your visit to Aura as much as I will mine to Azure!" Eric smiled nastily, he had found a far greater pleasure in terrifying Azure than he ever had in trying to marry her. 

"Oh, but I will," a cunning light lit in Zedd's eyes. "Oh, but I will."   
  


* * *

  


Billy sat next to Aura as he did ceaselessly now, one hand held in his own, urging her back to life, to no avail. "Aura, please wake up," he whispered. "Whatever that bastard did to you, it's over now. Please, come back to me." 

A cold, wicked voice killed all his hope for that day, though. "Hello, Blue Ranger!" Zedd appeared in the room, easily freezing Bulk and Skull, as well as Billy himself, though the Ranger could still speak. 

"Zedd, get out of here!" Billy growled. "Haven't you done enough to her?" he watched helplessly as Zedd ran his silver talons through Aura's mass of black hair. 

"She is really beautiful," the evil overlord observed. It was a beauty that had held his heart for over fifty thousand years. All he had done to her was in preparation for one thing: breaking her down so completely she would run into his arms when he was ready for her to do so. 

"Leave her alone!" Billy insisted. "Get your hands off her!" 

Zedd's hands slid lower down Aura's motionless form. "What are you going to do about it?" 

"I'll. . .I'll kill you, Zedd!" Billy swore. "Whatever you did to make her like that, trapped inside herself, that's unforgivable!" 

Zedd laughed as his hands slipped even lower, and Billy's eyes filled with tears at what his enemy was doing to his beloved wife. "I'd like to see you try right now." 

"Maybe not now," Billy admitted. "But when I can, you are dead!" 

Billy was getting extremely tired of Zedd's laughter. "That is what you think!" the evil overlord told him. "It's a pity. She could've done so much better than you, and almost did. When she was on Kalakan, she threw herself on me!" 

"No!" Billy retorted, remembering what Aura had told him of what had happened. 

"Oh, but yet," Zedd nodded, a wicked expression in his eyes. "And all I did was invite her to dinner!" 

"Aura told me about that," Billy snapped. "You put a love potion in that food!" _And she broke it's power by remembering me!_ 

Zedd shrugged, he rather enjoyed the look of pain in Billy's eyes. It was about to get worse. "That is her side of the story. She was the one who started it!" 

"Aura, no," Billy stared at the still woman in the hospital bed. Zedd continued his caresses, which were all the sweeter for the audience and for knowing how Aura would react if she were able to. "Stop touching her! Leave her alone, she's catatonic already, what more can you do to her?" 

_Ah, you have much to learn about what I can do, Ranger! More than you ever imagined was possible can be done to hurt her, and I WILL do it all. She will only be a shell of her former self when I am through._ With a mere flexing of the spell that bound her into her endless loop, that loop was broken. "Hello, Aura," he said almost gently as sense and reason returned to her vacant eyes. 

"Z. . .Zedd," Billy heard the first word falling from her lips in a while. Zedd glanced at him, a sardonic grin on his face. 

"I could get her out of her catatonic state, but you couldn't," he mocked the Blue Ranger. Aura focused on Zedd, hatred in those eyes. 

"Zedd," she whispered, forcing the words from lips and vocal cords unused in days. "Leave me alone." 

"Never," he hissed, his hands wreaking further damage to her body. He held them a few inches away from her stomach, as an evil green glow emanated from them. "A pity you will never have any more children!" _I just blocked off her reproduction system to everything but MY children. She will only have mine. But she doesn't need to know that just YET._ 

"Zedd, leave!" Billy roared in outrage at hearing that. _No. The Spirit can heal it, I hope! I won't let him do that to her, I just won't!_ 

"No," Aura whispered, staring up at him. "What have you done to me?" 

"I shall leave for now," Zedd told them. "But I will be back," he flicked a wrist, and Aura sank back into the eternal round of horrific memories. As he melted away, Billy cried to see the blankness returning to Aura's eyes. 

He dropped to his knees by her, able to move again, and cried. "Oh, Aura," he whispered through his tears. "My sweet Aura. Come back to me. Please."   
  


* * *

  


Azure was just rousing to wakefulness. Adam hadn't moved from her side, not even for something to eat. "I am going to kill them, both of them," he murmured. It was a sacred oath. Every muscle in his body froze suddenly as Eric appeared next to Azure's bed! He tried to get up, only to find he was as immovable as a stone! 

"Hello there, Black Ranger!" Eric grinned as he put a hand on Azure. Oh, this was going to be double torture! 

Adam did his best to move, all to no avail. "What do you want? Leave her alone, you've almost killed her, aren't you happy yet?" 

"Oh, not yet," Eric purred. "Not nearly yet." 

Azure's eyes flickered as Eric's hands wandered all over her body. He laughed wickedly. "What's the matter, Adam? Afraid she'll come to her senses if I'm around too much, and leave you for me?" 

"She won't!" Adam swore stoutly. He knew Azure, knew her with all his heart. She would never do that. As her eyes came open, she froze in fear at the sight of Eric over her. 

"Hello there, dear Azure," Eric smiled nastily at her. She just stared at him, too afraid to speak or move, and not knowing why Adam didn't get rid of this filth! 

Adam roared, "Get your hands off my wife!" 

Eric continued to torment her in all the hideous ways he could imagine. "You know, it's your sister's own fault she's like that," _nothing like a little mental torture._ "She tried to kill me and my father. We showed her that we don't die that easily, of course!" 

Azure's eyes turned to Adam, who only stood there! "Adam, help me, please!" she begged. Why wouldn't he move? Why did he just sit there? 

"He doesn't want to help you," Eric grinned. He lifted his head as Aura's screams were heard in their room. "Sounds like Dad's having fun too." Azure closed her eyes as tears ran down her cheeks, not wanting to see this monster ever again! 

"Fight him, Azure, you've got to!" Adam pleaded with her, wanting nothing more than to stand up and pummel this piece of offal into the ground! Eric stepped away from her, smiling. 

"I know you enjoyed that as much as I did!" he was deliberately vague on who he spoke to, wanting their own imaginations to provide even more torment for them. "Time for me to go, but I'll see you again, Azure!" 

"Not if I see you first!" Adam swore as Eric laughed and vanished. Adam was released from the stillness as he did, and stumbled over to Azure. "Azure? Honey?" 

There was no response. "Azure, he's gone now." 

Azure glared at him, every muscle tight and tense. "I hate you," she whispered. Adam's eyes widened as he realized she didn't know why he hadn't helped her. 

"Azure, I couldn't move, I was frozen!" 

She turned her head away from him. "Get out!" she ordered, tears falling in an endless waterfall. "Get out!" she barely noticed as Adam quietly left the room, shutting the door behind him. All she wanted to do was die.   
  


* * *

  


Billy kept a hold of Aura's hand, trying to urge her into even a semblance of life. "Aura? Please." 

"Billy," Adam was standing in the doorway, shaking somewhat. Billy looked over at him, tears in both pairs of eyes. 

"It was Zedd. He was here," Billy said. Adam came into the room and sighed. 

"Eric was in there with me and Azure," he reported. He felt sick at the memory of what had happened. Billy had heard Azure's screaming. 

"Is that why she screamed get out?" 

Adam nodded. "I was frozen, I couldn't move. She must have thought I didn't want to help her. Billy, he said it was Aura's fault she was like that, that she tried to kill them." 

"We knew that already," Billy sighed. "We just need to find a way to get her out of this, and to help Azure," he glanced down at Aura. "I'm going to kill them. I just wish she would come back to me, some sign that she's still there, some part of her." 

As he told Adam what Zedd had said and done, the Black Ranger sighed. "Oh, man, we've got to help her. But I don't know what to do. And now Azure's so mad at me," tears slid down his cheeks. "Life has gone from heaven to hell!" 

Zack came in a moment later. "What happened?" he'd heard noises, but hadn't thought they were coming from here! As Adam told him, he groaned. "Let me talk to her. She'll listen." _I hope._ 

"Please," Adam nodded, barely noticed as Zack crossed into the other room. He hurt to hear his long-time friend crying. Zack said softly, "It wasn't his fault, Azure." 

She looked away from him. "He didn't. ...Eric did things, and he didn't move!" her tears kept streaking her cheeks. 

"He couldn't move, Azure," Zack told her. "He was frozen, literally." 

"Why is this happening to me?" she moaned as he sat beside her. "To us?" 

"I don't know." 

"There is more to this than people are telling me. I can feel it," Azure didn't like secrets being kept from her. Zack didn't look at her for a moment, he couldn't. 

"Of course not," was all he would say. He didn't want her to lose all hope. 

"Zack?" 

"It's nothing," he told her. "Nothing at all. You'll be fine. Just about everything's gonna heal up perfectly." 

_Just about everything. I was hit in the stomach. . .the. . oh, NO!!!!_ "I. .. .no," she couldn't believe it; she didn't need Zack to confirm it. "My dreams, my life, all worthless!" she cried into the pillow. 

"No, no it isn't!" Zack exclaimed. "Not in the slightest!" 

"It is!" Azure was starting to hyperventilate. "It is!" Zack tried to calm her down, but was having no luck as a pale wind seemed to blow through the room. 

"Azure," the Spirit of Earth stood next to her suddenly. "Azure, my child, you are not worthless. You still have much ahead of you that is good to do. Don't let what Eric has done destroy you." 

"He already has," Azure whispered. The Spirit shook her head gently. 

"No, he hasn't. You are stronger than you think you are, much stronger!" 

"Am I?" she asked "I have a nervous collapse almost every week!" 

The Spirit wasn't being shaken by this, though. "You have the power within you to fight them. You are more than you believe yourself to be." 

"How?" 

The Spirit smiled at her tenderly. "You, like all my children, bear a piece of me within you. Dare you say that one who holds a piece of the Spirit of Earth is weak?" 

Zack and the Spirit were both rewarded to see Azure smiling, for the first time in a long time. "No." 

"You must rest and heal, my child. And never stop fighting." 

"I won't," Azure promised. "For you and for myself," she turned to Zack and smiled. 

"It's nice to see you smiling again," he observed. Azure chuckled a little weakly. 

"It's nice to smile! Where's Adam?" 

"In Aura's room." 

Azure sighed a little. "I should talk to him." _I should have realized it was due to Eric he didn't help me. He wanted to, so much, I could see it in his eyes._ 

"He's hurting," Zack said softly. "You need to talk to him, I think." 

"I shouldn't have yelled," she observed. "I should have known better." 

"Want me to ask him to come back in here?" Azure nodded her reply to Zack's question. As he left, she sighed deeply. _I won't stop fighting, I won't let them hurt me. I don't know what strength I can have that I don't know about, but whatever it is, I won't let them keep this up. I won't._   
  


* * *

  


"Adam?" Zack said as he re-entered Aura's room. "She wants to see you. Azure does." 

Adam only needed to hear that before he darted away at once to see her. As he did so, the Spirit coalesced beside Aura's bedside. For the first time, the people there saw that she was about to cry. 

"Spirit?" Billy asked, not sure how to react to this. He had never seen the Spirit of Earth so close to tears. "He'll pay for this." 

The Spirit touched Aura's forehead gently, and trembled, sickened. "No. Not this." 

"What?" Zack and Billy asked in unison. 

"He has trapped her in an endless loop of memories. All that goes through her mind is an eternal reliving of all the nightmarish things that have happened in her life, over and over again. That is why there is 'no one home' in her mind. Effectively, there isn't." 

"How can we help her?" Billy wanted to know that more than anything! 

"For now, I am not certain," a single crystal tear made it's way down the Spirit of Earth's perfect face. "But I will be searching for a way to break her out of the loop. At the moment, the only way I know of for certain is that Zedd can do it. Since he was the one who put her into it." 

Billy's eyes flashed with anger as he heard that name. "What is he up to? Why is he doing this?" 

"Revenge," the Spirit said simply. "For Aura broke his spell over her fifty thousand years ago by remembering her love for you. He seeks to destroy her completely, that he might take her as his slave, with no way for her to return to her true self. If this loop is not broken, then indeed that will happen." 

Billy sighed. "But why Azure?" he wanted to know. "She wasn't there." 

"That is Eric's doing. He has given up on the idea of wedding her, and now desires only revenge for what he perceives as his rejection by her. I must go now," the Spirit looked at them all. "But now this, my friends, that justice will be done." 

The Spirit faded away just as Billy said, "Thank you: for everything." 

Zack's eye flicked from Aura to Billy, then across the hall to Aura's room. "I can't believe this is happening," he groaned suddenly. "Oh, man! I forgot to tell Adam that Azure knows. ..well. .about what the doctor said, her not having anymore kids!"   
  


* * *

  


Adam quietly entered the room, noticing Azure was reading a card. "A. . .Azure?" he asked gently. She glanced up, fear filling her eyes for a moment. 

"So, um," he wandered in a bit. "Who's that from?" _If that's from Eric, I think I'm going to kill him with my bare hands!_ 

"Skull," Azure smiled as she named the young man. Adam relaxed visibly. 

"Oh, that was sweet of him," her husband smiled tenderly once he knew it was nothing their enemies had done to make her be afraid. At least not recently. 

"He sent those too," Azure gestured towards the yellow roses on the nightstand. Adam smiled, thinking of how far he had come from the punk he'd known when he had first moved to Angel Grove. "He worries, too," she looked at Adam for a moment, then looked away. "I'm sorry," she whispered. 

"For what?" Adam asked as he sat beside her. 

"I should've known that you couldn't help me. He. . .he just. . ..," she balled up, remembering how it had hurt. 

He tried to comfort her. "Azure, it's all right. I know you were just upset." 

She leaned away from him, crying. "Why can't he leave me alone?" As she did so, the back of the hospital gown opened up, revealing hideous bruises all along her back. 

"I swear, he will leave you alone," Adam growled as he saw the marks. "No matter what it takes." 

Azure sighed deeply. "Adam? Where is Katia?" _I want to see my baby._ 

"Rocky's taking care of her and the other kids while you and Aura are in here," he said. Azure raised an eyebrow. 

"Is she in the hospital? Can I see her? I want to see her, please! I haven't seen her in. . .how long?" 

It had been almost two months. "Please!" Azure begged. "I want to see my Katia and my sister!" 

Adam got to his feet. "I'll call Rocky, but Azure, about Aura. . ." _I knew we should have told her something was up._ 

"What about Aura?" Azure wanted to know all the details! 

"She. . ." Adam sighed. "You'd have to go see her, she can't see you. And there won't be much conversation." 

Azure nodded absently. "When the doctors let me off this respirator and these other machines, I'll. . .," s he paused. "She's catatonic?" _What has happened to her?_ 

"It's worse," Adam explained what he had heard the Spirit telling the others in Aura's room. Azure stared out the window, heart pounding with fear. "The Spirit's looking for a way to help her. If anyone can do it, the Spirit of Earth can!" 

A few minutes and a phone call later, Rocky entered the room, carrying Katia. He handed her gently to Adam, then looked over to Azure. With the utmost care, Adam slipped his daughter into her mother's arms. Azure looked down at Katia, a single tear sliding down her cheek. 

_We will survive._ 

**The End**


	33. Taken Amber

**Taken Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

Azure sighed a little as she started to dress; it had been too long since she was out of the hospital. In the month that had passed since awakening from her coma and Aura's entering of her strange catatonic state, she'd relearned how to walk. Today, she was getting out of the hospital at last. "I'm glad you're finally getting out of here," Adam said as he handed her the clothes he'd brought. 

"I wish Aura was," Azure put her clothes on carefully, noticing her almost-faded bruises and her extreme weight loss. 

"I'm getting worried," Adam said. "It's been a month." 

"Adam? Did you bring a belt?" as Azure stood up, her pants almost slid off! "Yeah, I know, I'm worried too." 

Adam handed her the belt he'd thought to bring. "Are you going to go see her?" Billy hadn't left Aura's side for more than ten minutes at a time since he and Rocky had found her in their house. 

Azure nodded. "I did, but I'm going back." 

"It's a good thing Alpha and Zordon were able to put a teleportation barrier around her room. I'd bet money Zedd would've tried something else if they hadn't," he told her. Azure came over to him, pushing the nervousness she still felt aside. 

"Can we?" she asked. Adam smiled at her. 

"Leave here? Sure!" 

Azure shook her head. "See Aura?" _I want to leave. But I want to see her first. The dreams have started again. I wish I could never dream again._ 

"Sure!" Adam smiled a little. "You didn't have to ask that! Come on, let's go!" 

Across the hallway, Billy was still sitting by Aura's bed. Aura lay there, breathing quietly, her face at peace, with no sign of the inner turmoil that racked her mind and soul. "Aura?" Azure whispered. "It's me, Azure. I'm back." 

Billy sounded as if he hadn't rested in weeks. "I'm beginning to wonder if she'll ever be all right." 

"You need sleep," Azure observed, seeing the shadows under his eyes. _He looks horrible! This is a living nightmare for both of them!_ 

"What if she comes out of it and I'm not here?" Billy echoed words spoken by Adam only a month earlier. Adam looked at his friend harshly. 

"Don't make me have Alpha give you a sedative," he half-threatened. As Billy smiled a tiny smile, Adam suggested, "Let me drive you home. Aura will be fine; and Bulk and Skull will call us if anything happens." _I can't believe how much those two have changed over the past few years. They went from being the school bullies to actual police officers! And they're doing so well at, the first time they've ever done something so well in their lives._ 

"Yeah, I guess," Billy sighed. "But it's been a month." _A month without her._ 

"I trust the Spirit will find a way," Adam started urging Billy to his feet again. Billy sighed. 

"I hope so. I think I'm going to talk to Aura about starting to look for a new place once she's herself again," he glanced down at his wife. _Aura, please, wake up! Please! I can't bear this!_   
  


* * *

  


It didn't take them long to get to get back to the Cranstons' house. Azure stared at it for a few moments, remembering the last time she'd been there. . .the hideous pain in her stomach as Eric had slammed his knife into her. . . 

"Azure?" Adam asked gently. "Are you all right? Is something wrong?" 

She plastered a quick fake smile on her face as she looked at him. "Yeah, I'm fine," her voice was as unconvincing as her smile was. 

"Are you sure?" _I don't believe her._ 

"I'm sure," Azure nodded briefly and glanced around a little. _I hope I can handle this. Oh, God, I hope I can handle this!_ 

Adam looked over at Billy. "Now, are you going to eat and sleep, or do we have to force you to?" 

"If you guys eat too!" _I'm not going to be forced to eat without company!_ 

Adam grinned a little as he looked at Azure. "You hungry?" his wife nodded briefly. 

"A little," she said softly. Adam quickly fixed something, since neither Billy nor Azure was up to cooking so much as a piece of toast. Once they'd finished, Adam looked sharply at Billy. 

"Okay, Billy, you are going to bed!" he stated. Billy nodded reluctantly as they started up towards the bedroom. Azure's heart pounded as they drew nearer to it. She stepped into the room with courage in her heart, but the moment she passed the threshold, her eyes widened as memory struck her in full. 

The pain. The fear. Eric's knife sliding into her, his hideous laughter ringing in her ears. She stepped back, wanting to get away, and bumped into something. 

"Azure?" Adam asked gently, seeing the fear in her eyes. "What is it?" she only screamed incoherently as he tried to soothe her. "Azure?" 

Billy closed his eyes, remembering what Aura had told them! "Man, I don't think this was a good idea to bring her here!" 

Adam put an arm around Azure. "And I forgot! Man, I am an idiot!" Azure twisted out of his hold and ran straight for the bathroom. A moment later, they heard the sound of her retching coming from it. "That does it," Adam growled. "I'm taking her somewhere for a while! Azure, we're going on vacation!" Adam followed Azure into the bathroom, to see her staring at him with her eyes large and vacant. He looked to Billy, just behind him. "Any ideas on where we can go? Someplace where Zedd and Eric can't bother us." 

"Adam?" they all looked up to see the Spirit of Earth standing there. "What has happened?" 

"We forgot," Adam whispered. "We forgot that it was here Eric tried to kill Azure. She remembered as soon as she saw it, and now. .," he gestured sadly towards his crying wife. "I need to take her somewhere where she can heal mentally, somewhere where they can't bother her." 

"How about the Heart?" the Spirit asked. _Azure must be healed. It is as imperative as Aura's own healing is._ 

"Oh, yes!" Adam smiled. "that would be wonderful!" 

The Spirit looked at him seriously. "Adam, you must prepare yourself for being there for a long time. There is no telling how long Azure's healing will take." 

_I think I know what she means._ He called Zack. The former Black Ranger teleported in a few moments later, and stared wide-eyed at Azure. "What is it?" 

"Zack, I'm going to the Heart of Earth with Azure. We could be there a while. I want you to take back the Black Ranger powers until I get back, please." 

Zack smiled at his friend. "I'll take care of them. After all, you did." 

Adam smiled as he handed his Power Coin to his predecessor. "Thanks, Zack. A lot." 

"My thanks will come when Azure is back, and Aura." 

Adam sighed a little as he gazed at Aura's spiritual partner. "Any ideas yet on how to get Aura back?" As the Spirit shook her head, Adam sighed. "Well, let us know as soon as you find out anything." 

"I will," the Spirit promised. "Go, prepare for the trip. I shall take Azure to the heart. Contact Ninjor when you are ready to leave." 

Adam nodded, reaching out to touch Azure's face very gently. "I'll see you soon, honey," as she shrank away from him, he sighed. "This could take a long while." 

The Spirit nodded. "It will not be easy. We will see you soon." 

"Take care, Azure," he whispered as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I'll be there as soon as I can." 

A moment later, only Adam, Zack, and Billy stood there. Adam sighed deeply, then left, heading for his own home and making the preparations he needed to make for what could be the longest recovery session any of them had ever gone through.   
  


* * *

  


Zedd laughed coldly as he saw Azure screaming in terror at the sight of a simple room. Eric snickered from beside him. "This should be entertaining to watch. I doubt even the blasted Spirit of Earth can help her after what I did!" 

"No one can," Zedd reminded him. "After what we are going to do!" 

Eric nodded. "It's going to be so much fun! We can hurt both of them at the same time!" 

"While you take care of the brat sister, Goldar will keep Adam and the Spirit of Earth busy," Zedd glanced down towards the hospital, where the object of his desire/hate lay trapped in the endless loop he had created. "And I will have my fun with Aura." 

Eric laughed sarcastically. "You'd best find a way to distract the other Rangers as well. Billy is so overprotective. I wonder why!" 

"I already have a plan," Zedd told him. He smiled a little; things had never been so perfect. 

"When shall we hit them?" Eric wanted to know. 

"Soon, very soon!" Zedd promised. Oh, this was quite simply the most fun he had experienced in eons!   
  


* * *

  


Adam glanced around at the other Rangers, past and present, gathered in the Command Center. "Guys, I've got some bad news," _Bad news doesn't describe it. Horrible comes a lot closer._ 

"What is it?" Jason wanted to know. Kat nodded, a worried look in her eyes. "What's going on?" 

Adam sighed. "Azure has reverted into herself. I'm taking her away from Angel Grove for a while; I don't know when we'll be back." 

"Where are you going?" Tommy asked. 

"Somewhere Zedd and Eric can't touch her. The Heart of the Earth. She's there already," he told them. He couldn't wait to get to her; she was so fragile right now. 

Rocky wondered, "Who's going to be the Black Ranger while you're gone?" 

"The original," Adam glanced over at Zack, who nodded. It felt strangely good to pass the power back to his friend, as good as it had felt to get the powers in the first place. 

"It's only until Azure's well again, though," Zack reminded him. Adam sighed a little. 

"I wish I knew how long this is going to take, but I might be gone for a very long time. If you saw how Azure was. . .," he shivered a little. "It was like the last time Eric was near her." 

Jason frowned; he'd been a friend to the Robinsons since they'd first lived in Angel Grove. "If I get my hands on Eric. .. ." 

Adam's voice was stern. "Let me handle him," he said. "This is personal." 

"It depends on who gets to him first," Jason replied. Adam glanced up at Zordon. 

THIS IS NECESSARY, ADAM. WE WILL MISS YOU AS WELL. 

Adam sighed again, then for a moment looked so worried and scared the Rangers all turned to him. "Adam, is everything all right?" 

"I was just remembering how Azure looked before the Spirit to her to the Heart," he closed his eyes, shivering. _So fragile, so afraid. So hurt. . . we have to help her get better. We just have to._ 

Zack shivered as he remembered how she'd looked. "She'll be all right." 

"She is terrified," Adam told them. "What kind of person would make another person fear their own loved ones?" 

"Someone who hates everyone," Kim would have loved to get her hands on Eric and slowly strangle him if it were possible. 

Adam took a deep breath. "I guess I should go pack. I hope I'll see you guys soon, but somehow, I doubt that." 

"Are you taking Katia with you?" Rocky asked, and Adam nodded that he was. 

"She needs her mother, and I think her mother needs her." 

Rocky nodded in his own turn at Adam's statement. "Hey, you got your hands full with the twins and Shaya," Adam reminded him. "I thank you for looking after her while Azure was in the hospital." _She was so thin, and so many bruises..._ "For that, I am grateful." 

"My pleasure," Rocky smiled as everyone crowded around to let him know just how much they were going to miss him while he was gone. Finally Adam stepped apart, wiping away a tear from one eye. 

"I'll see you around," was all he said as he teleported back to his apartment. The others looked around, already feeling a strange sort of sense of loss without him there. One and all, they wanted Azure and Aura well again. 

And Eric and Zedd gone from their lives forever.   
  


* * *

  


Adam watched Azure as she played with Katia. In the week since they had been there, his wife had shown some improvement, but not nearly as much as they both wanted. The beauty and peace here was probably the only thing that had even enabled her to come this far along in her recovery. He hadn't come near her much, he wasn't even sure if she was aware of the fact he was there in the first place. 

"She's made some progress," the Spirit of Earth spoke softly from next to him. She wasn't always there, at least not always visible, but the sense of her presence was eternal in this place. He could easily see why Aura loved her so much. She exuded love and caring; she was the essence of life itself on this world 

"I'm glad, too," Adam nodded. All he wanted right now was his wife back to her usual laughing self. 

The Spirit watched Azure for a few moments, then asked Adam, "Want to try talking to her?" 

_Should I? Would it hurt her even more? She hasn't want to be near anyone since this all got started. But how else can she heal up if she doesn't START being near people? I guess I'll find out._ "Azure?" 

"Adam?" he'd come up from behind her, not wanting to startle her too much by just appearing. 

"Yeah, it's me," he said as tenderly as he could. The tension in her shoulders eased, just a trifle, just a mere trifle. 

"When. . .when did you get here?" she asked, wanting to turn and look at him so much it hurt. 

"Not long ago," he replied. 

"How is everyone?" she asked, heart longing for news of her family, and for one special member of it. "Aura?" _Please let her be awake!_ 

Adam sighed. "Aura is the same. As for everyone else," he quietly filled her in on the few things that had happened while she was gone. 

"Want to sit?" she offered after a few moments, gesturing to the ground near her. He nodded and sat cross-legged near, but not too near, her. She managed to look at him, and he was disappointed to still see the look of fear in his eyes. "Why am I so scared of you?" 

Adam closed his eyes for a moment. "I think because of what happened in the hospital with Eric," he could never forget seeing Eric standing over her, threatening her, and he was unable to do anything at all to help her! Hot rage poured through him at the memory. 

"It wasn't your fault," Azure looked back down at the ground. "I know that now. But it doesn't help." 

A soft wind played over the both of them, and Adam noticed something that made him feel a little better. Azure was wearing the sundress they had been married in. "I know that too. You'll get through this. We'll help you." _No matter what, we will get you healed, inside and out, my beautiful Azure._ 

Azure glanced at Katia, now playing by herself with some of the flowers that grew everywhere in the Heart. "I hope so. For her sake if not my own." 

"We'll all get through this," Adam promised her. She stood up and started down towards a stream that flowed not far away. He heard her whispered voice as she left. 

"I hope so." 

Neither of them noticed both the Spirit of Earth and Ninjor standing on a hill watching them from a short distance away. "This doesn't look good," Ninjor observed quietly. 

"Not at the moment," the Spirit demurred. "But she will heal," her voice held nothing but conviction, without a single inch left for doubt. Her long-time friend looked at her quietly. 

"You are sure of this? You know something, don't you?" 

The Spirit nodded, once she was certain Adam and Azure couldn't hear her. "She is the one of the prophecy." 

Ninjor's eyes widened under his helmet. "She? Are you sure?" 

"I am." 

"How?" the ancient Ninja Master was surprised. "The prophecy states that. . .," his voice trailed off as he remembered. "I see your point." 

The Spirit nodded. "Once she is healed, then something will happen. I know not precisely what, but she will fulfill her destiny." 

"Is that why you saved her when Galan put the spell on her to stop her heart? You had a feeling even then that she was the one?" 

"That was one reason," the Spirit told him, gazing still at Azure and Adam as they talked in low tones. 

"One?" Ninjor sounded curious. "There was another?" 

"Yes. Because it needed doing. She is as much my daughter as Aura is, actually more so, for as much as I love her, Aura is not of Earth, and Azure is." 

Ninjor nodded. "True. I hope that Azure is ready for all that lies ahead." 

"As do I," the Spirit kept her eyes on the two young people. "As do I."   
  


* * *

  


"This can't be! Her!" Zedd glowed so red it looked as if he was going to explode. "This simply cannot be!" 

Eric stared at his father, wondering why he was so angry. They'd just been spying on Adam and Azure in the Heart, then this had started happening. "What? What is it?" 

"She can't be the one the prophecy spoke of!" Zedd raged, barely hearing his son. Eric managed to get his attention, and asked just what this prophecy was. "Some goody-good gibberish on how one connected to the powers of good but not serving them will destroy the greatest evil. I don't know it's full details, but I do know that it's been bothering me for centuries!" 

"Azure?!?!" Eric stared, his little girlfriend was going to destroy evil? 

"That is what they said," Zedd glared down once more at the Heart. "She must be stopped! I will not permit this prophecy to come to pass!" 

Eric snapped, "I claim that honor, Father!" _We'll just see what she destroys when she sees ME!_ 

"Then so be it!" Zedd declared. "Goldar!" 

"Yes, sire?" the winged ape asked. He'd heard of this prophecy, and didn't want anything to do with whoever it was who was destined to fulfill it! 

"The time for our attack is at hand! Eric, bring her here, then you can have some fun before destroying her!" Zedd snapped out his orders. They would see just who destroyed who! 

"I will, Father!" Eric couldn't wait to see Azure again. She'd learn just what it meant to be subject to the greatest evil the universe had ever known: him! He watched as his father zapped up a monster for the Rangers to be kept busy with, then transformed into an orderly. "Have fun with Aura, father!" he wished him. 

"Oh, I will!" Zedd chuckled, then teleported off to Earth. This prophecy would not happen!   
  


* * *

  


Aura hadn't moved a single inch in days. Tommy sighed as he looked at her. "I hope the Spirit can find something to help her." 

"And soon," Jason agreed with him. Everyone except Adam was there, keeping their usual vigil over their fallen comrade. Kat looked at her friend long and appraisingly. Aura's bruises had faded weeks earlier, but that same vacant look in her eyes remained. 

"She really doesn't look good," she sighed. 

"At least Zedd can't get to her in here," Tommy reminded them all gratefully. The teleportation barrier was absolute, no one could teleport in or out. Jason nodded briefly. 

"I hope he can't get to Azure, either!" They all wanted that girl home and healed and safe! 

Tommy glanced out the window. "I don't think he can. They should be safe there." 

"The Heart has the Spirit of Earth there. No one crosses her," Kat reminded them all. Jason shook his head for a second. 

"I am still trying to get used to what is going on. Heck, I didn't even know about Eric until this happened!" 

Tommy told him, "We didn't know about him until he first showed up in Angel Grove," the memories of that little escapade weren't good. 

"When Azure tried to kill herself because of him," Billy sighed, remembering how scared they had all been. 

Kat nodded, memories soaring through her mind of how she had found Azure once during Galan's tenure. "If it weren't for Aura, she would have died." 

"I just wish none of this had happened," Jason sighed. Things had changed so dramatically from when he was a Ranger, and most of it had been for the worst, it seemed now. 

"We all do," Tommy replied. "We all do." 

Billy leaned forward to place a kiss on Aura's forehead, when their communicators beeped. Tommy growled. "What is it, Zordon?" 

A MONSTER IS ATTACKING DOWNTOWN ANGEL GROVE, RANGERS. YOU ARE NEEDED. 

"Great," Tommy muttered. "Jason, Trini, Kim, you stay here and keep an eye on Aura. Billy, we've got work to do." 

Billy nodded and stood up; he knew perfectly well Aura would have his hide if he neglected this responsibility. "I love you," he murmured as they left. Jason walked over to the window and stared quietly out of it for a few minutes. 

"Good luck, guys," he murmured. Trini and Kim were on opposite sides of Aura, watching for any hint of life in her eyes, anything at all. An orderly entered the room, starting to straighten up. 

"You're new, aren't you," Trini asked; in the last month they had seen just about every nurse, doctor, and orderly there. The young man nodded. 

"Today's my first day," he told them. He glanced over at Aura. "What's wrong with her?" 

"Something that only time will heal," Jason sighed, wishing it were otherwise with all his heart. The orderly nodded as Jason turned his attention back to the window. His eyes widened suddenly to see Tengas trashing the small yard where those patients who could walked every now and then. Thankfully no one was there at the moment, but they were causing serious damage! 

He turned to Trini and Kim, gesturing quietly outside. Both of them saw what was going on, and stiffened. "Let's go get something to eat," Trini said casually. "Aura should be all right for a few minutes." 

They sauntered out, not appearing any more anxious than anyone else around there did, until they reached the yard. Back in the room, things were not quite that serene, though. The orderly closed and locked the door, then shapechanged back into his real form: Zedd. Once more he broke the loop Aura was in, ready for torment and terror. 

As Aura came out of her nightmares, she looked around, hoping that somehow Billy had rescued her from them. "B. . .Billy?" she whispered his name. A shadowy figure stepped up to her. 

"No," Zedd said, smiling at her. She looked so helpless, so vulnerable to anything he wanted to do to her! Just at that same moment, she jerked, feeling a pain that racked her entire body. She knew that pain, knew that sensation! 

"The Heart," she whispered. "You're attacking the Heart." 

Zed nodded as he caressed her, almost lover-like. "That is where your sister, niece, and her husband are. And very soon, your precious little sister will be no more!" 

"No!" Aura tried to scream, but couldn't. "Leave them alone!" 

Zedd shook his head. "Your sister is a great threat," he told her seriously. "The greatest threat in the universe." 

"Azure?" Aura couldn't believe her ears. " What could she do to you? And get your hands off me, now!" she did her best to hit at him. He stopped for a moment, then jerked her arms above her head and created shackles to hold her there. 

"She is a great threat, not only to me, but to my family!" Surely she understood what it was to protect family! 

Aura kicked at him, wanting to fight with everything she possessed. "Then more power to her! I wish her all the luck in the world! I hope she kills all of you!" 

"She won't be able to," Zedd laughed. "You should see what happened when she went into your house. She is totally useless and soon Eric will destroy her!" 

Aura growled, "If he does, then I won't rest until I've destroyed both of you!" she cried, unable to bear the torment he inflicted on her, the part of the world that was her home, and her family. "Leave me alone, Zedd! I've been through hell the past. . .I don't even know how long it is, I can't stop reliving everything you and your hideous family have done to me!" 

"Not enough hell," Zedd hissed. "Not enough at all!" _Not until you are so broken and defeated you don't even bother to fight me when I come to you. When you are so annihilated all you want to do is to have me with you, forever!_ 

"What is enough to you? Haven't you hurt me enough? All I did was tell you I didn't love you, fifty thousand years ago!" 

"Hell enough is when you die!" he hissed. _It will make it all the sweeter when she thinks I will kill her: then I keep her forever as my slave-queen!_ "Pity you can't help your own sister!" he vanished, as did her shackles. Aura cried for a few minutes, then realized. 

She was still out of the loop. He hadn't put her back into it. She managed to stop her tears; she wasn't ever going back into it again, either! "I can't take this anymore," she whispered. "If enough hell is death, then so be it!" she glanced around, and saw a knife that had been left behind. She managed to get to it, and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Billy," she prayed he would understand. "But I can't live like this. Not with him doing this to me every chance he gets. I love you." 

She started to draw the knife along her wrists, when it flew across the room. She saw Zedd standing next to her still, and realized he had never left, he had only went invisible! She tried to get up, only to have him force her back down to the bed. "Remember this," he hissed. "Remember your despair forever!" 

She sank back into the mists of her eternal loop, and Zedd laughed. He hoped things were going half as well in the Heart with Eric as they had just went with him. Soon everything he had ever wanted would be his.   
  


* * *

  


Azure trembled as she hid behind a tree, listening to Adam fight the Tengas and Goldar. "I'll find you!" Eric growled as he stomped through the Heart, causing as much damage as he could. "You cant' hide from me, Azure!" he laughed a little. "What's the matter? Afraid? I know you are, you're afraid of everyone now, even your own dear husband!" 

Tears rolled down Azure's cheeks as he spoke. "You know, this is fun! By doing this, we get to hurt you and your sister at the same time! Remember what any damage to this place does to her? And of course, what my father's doing won't help her any!" 

"No!" Azure couldn't remain silent a moment longer. Eric turned to where her voice had emanated from. He smiled in evil joy as he saw her. 

"There you are!" he grabbed her as she tried to sneak away. "You're not going anywhere!" 

"Adam!" Azure screamed at the top of her lungs. She was glad she'd seen Ninjor and slipped Katia to him. Adam turned away as he fought Goldar, only to be hit upside the head. He staggered and fell. 

"No!" Azure screamed, not wanting to have seen that. Eric kept a harsh grip on her arm and pulled her closer to him. 

"You are too dangerous to live, girl," he hissed in her ear. "And my father and I are going to see to it that you don't!" 

Azure squirmed trying to get free, wanting only to be far away from everything. As they teleported away, the last thing she saw was Goldar trashing the Heart, and Adam in a heap, unconscious.   
  


* * *

  


Azure grunted in pain as Eric kicked her in the ribs as she fell into a heap on the floor of the lunar palace. "We're finally going to be rid of you!" he gloated. He bent down closer to her. "This is going to be so much fun!" she shrank away from him, and he chuckled. "Then after you're gone, we start with the Rangers: beginning with your sister!" 

Azure's eyes went wide. "No," she whispered, tears coursing down her cheeks. Eric laughed. 

"We've already begun to do her in, of course! The damage to the Heart can't be healed without her, and she's in no condition to do it!" Azure kicked at him as hard as she could, then balled up, crying. Zedd's evil laughter didn't even affect her, but what he said next did. 

"It's so hard to heal anything when you're dead!" 

Azure looked up, eyes wide. "W-w-what?" 

"She's dead!" Zedd told her evilly. "She suicided!" at Azure's strangled denial, he continued. "I revived her, just to talk, and she ran away, grabbed a knife, and slit her wrists!" 

Eric laughed wickedly; this was a dream come true! "Finally! Rid of her at last!" 

_Dead? My sister? Dead? Suicide. . .no, it can't be, it just can't be!_ "Aura. . .no, Aura," she whispered. 

"Excellent work, Father!" Eric complimented Zedd. The evil overlord glanced down at Azure with contempt. 

"Thank you, my son. One down, and one to go!" 

Eric chuckled a bit. "Who gets to kill her?" Zedd laughed, debating over just who got that 'honor'. Eric bent over her, chuckling as his hands found just the wrong areas to touch. "Maybe a little fun first. . ." 

"Help me," Azure whispered, not expecting an answer, but remembering that the Spirit had told her she would always be with her. 

And she was. 

"Leave her alone!" the Spirit of Earth appeared, in full and splendid outrage. Eric, however, laughed at her. 

"What can you do?" he mocked her. "You are helpless without Aura!" 

The Spirit stood by Azure, as protectively as any mother. "Am I?" she smiled a little, then turned to Azure. "Trust me. Open up to me. This is your destiny." 

Azure looked up to her, then touched the Spirit's hand gently. In that moment, the two became one, and the Guardian of the Earth stood there. It wasn't the same as when Aura joined with her, there was more rage, less vindictiveness, but not one shade less power. Zedd and Eric stared in mutual confusion and fear. In all the annals of history, no one but the sworn Ranger of a world had ever been able to bond with the Spirit of a world! 

"No way!" Zedd breathed. "This isn't possible!" 

"Is it?" the Guardian chuckled a little. "Know that this is your own doing, Zedd, for it was your clone's healing of my daughter Azure that enables her to now join with me. So has the ending of evil come from the workings of evil." 

Eric took a deep breath. "Dad, I think we're in trouble!" 

"You better believe it!" the Guardian raised a hand, encased in a shimmering golden glow. "You have plagued this universe for far too long! You have done unspeakable damage to innocent people." 

"Azure, remember me!" Eric did his best to look terrifying; despite being as frightened out of his mind as he was. "Remember what I can do to you!" 

"And remember what I did to your sister!" Zedd hissed, blasting away at the Guardian with his staff, with no more effect than had he been a fly. 

The Guardian extended the glowing hand ominously. "That is why it is time for you to meet your hand! As Galan did before you!" 

The entire palace began to shake. Zedd and Eric had only time enough to exchange one last glance and words. "Oh, shit."   
  


* * *

  


Adam had forgotten how many times he had paced back and forth in the Command Center, waiting for word on Azure. "Why is this happening?" he murmured. _Couldn't they leave her alone to heal? Oh, Azure, please be all right!_ 

"I don't know, Adam," Billy told him. "but I'll find her!" 

Find her he did, and as Billy brought up the Lunar Palace on the Viewing Globe, he breathed in awestruck wonder, "Woah. . . " 

The palace was collapsing. 

"Azure!" Adam screamed, falling to his knees. "No!" _This hasn't happened! It's all a nightmare!_ 

"Adam?" the voice was Azure's, but deeper, fuller, more resonant. It had the same kind of sound to it that Aura's did when she was the Guardian. Everyone turned to see where it was coming from. 

And everyone stared for almost a full minute as Azure, still joined with the Spirit of Earth, appeared in the Command Center. "Azure?" Adam breathed. _This. . .I. . .whoa. . ._ 

"Yes," Azure and the Spirit separated, and she dropped to her knees, crying. Adam ran to her, calling out her name in mixed joy and fear. 

"Well done, Azure," the Spirit told her. "You have fulfilled your destiny." _Only the first part of it. But the rest must wait. Until you are ready._ 

Azure hugged Adam, her love finally overcoming her fear. "My destiny?" 

The Spirit explained the prophecy that had foretold the downfall of Zedd and Eric at the hands of one who had suffered by them, yet who was not a sworn warrior of the Light. Everyone looked at Azure in surprise, and all had the same thought on their mind. _Remind me to stay on her good side!_ 

"They're dead?" Adam had never been happier in his life! Finally, once and for all, Zedd and Eric were out of their lives, and it was his brave Azure who had done it! 

Azure hugged him with all her strength. "I. . .uh. . .," something Zedd had said reoccurred to her. "Aura!" 

"She is alive, Azure. Zedd lied to you," the Spirit told her, sensing the confusion. Azure closed her eyes for a brief moment. 

"I killed them," she whispered. _And I was so angry with Aura when she did it to Galan. But when I did it, I felt the same things she did. She wanted to protect me. I wanted to protect her, even though I thought she was dead. I wanted to STOP all the pain Zedd and Eric have caused._ 

"And if you had not, they would surely have killed you and went on to destroy the world and all you hold dear," the Spirit knew perfectly well what would have happened. It was part of being the Spirit of Earth. 

Azure whispered, "And I got upset with Aura when she. . . ." 

"She will understand," the Spirit assured her. "When she is free of the loop." 

"But we don't know how to break that loop!" Zack protested. _I don't want her to remain in that thing forever! None of us do! She has to be out of it!_ 

The Spirit looked at them all. "There may be a way. One way, but it is very dangerous." 

"How?" Billy asked at once. _I'll do anything!_ 

"If this fails," none of them had ever heard the Spirit sounding so serious. "Then Aura will never be free. Do you still wish me to tell you of it and to try it?" Azure as well as the Rangers all nodded. "I can send you all into her mind. There you must help Aura realize that all she sees are memories, memories that she can control, grow beyond, and deal with. That is how Zedd was able to trap her in them, for not one of those memories has she ever faced. She has only avoided. Only if they are defeated can she be free of the loop. But if you fail, she will remain there forever: and so will you." 

Billy answered at once. "I'm willing to try." the other Rangers were only seconds behind him, while Azure just looked at the ground, even when the Spirit called her name. 

"How can I help her if I can't battle what's going on inside of me?" 

The Spirit placed a hand on Azure's shoulder. "Azure, you can fight your doubts and fears." 

Adam nodded. "And I'll be there with you, you'll be safe." 

"We'll all be there," Tommy reminded her. Azure smiled a thin smile. 

"Okay," she decided. "I'll try." 

The Spirit looked up to Zordon and over to Alpha. "What of you?" 

"I will try," Alpha was glad to be a part of this! 

AS WILL I, Zordon wanted Aura back as much as they all did. 

"Then rest," the Spirit advised. "Everyone rest as completely as you can. Tomorrow, we heal the Amber Ranger."   
  


* * *

  


Jason watched over his friend, wondering if there was any chance at all for her to come back to herself. He glanced up as Billy entered, calling his name. "What is it? Any word on Azure?" 

"You might say that," Billy quickly informed him of the recent happenings. When the recitation was over with, Jason's eyes were wide. 

"So you guys are retired again?" 

Billy shook his head. "I doubt it. There's still Rita to worry over, my scans indicated she wasn't there at all, and didn't return with Zedd." 

"Man," Jason glanced back at Aura. "I wish that this loop would have died when Zedd did!" 

"That's what I came about," Billy got to the real reason he'd come there, other than to watch his wife. "There may be a way to break her out of that." 

Jason looked back at his friend, so worried over the woman he loved so much. "How?" once Billy had explained it, and told him the size of the force going in, Jason had but one question. "When do we do it?" 

"Tomorrow," Billy told him. Jason nodded briefly. 

"Then I'll see you then. Go get some sleep. We'll both need it." 

Billy smiled a little as he leaned over to kiss Aura gently on the lips. "Tomorrow, Aura," he whispered. "You're coming back to us." 

**The End**


	34. Healed Amber

**Healed Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

Azure sat quietly on the couch, looking outside. She hardly noticed when Adam sat next to her until he called her name. "Yes?" she asked. 

"How are you feeling?" 

"Physically, a little drained," she told him. She had felt like that ever since she'd returned from Zedd's palace the day before. She wondered how Aura could stand to join with the Spirit the way she did; it had worn her out completely. 

"And mentally?" his voice was as gentle as a moth's wing. 

"I don't know," Azure sighed. "Confused. Scared. Happy. Sad." 

Adam nodded. "I'm. .. nervous, myself. We're going to be going inside Aura's mind, her thoughts and memories, and the memories she's endlessly reliving." _I never thought we'd have to face some of those memories again. All the things that have ever happened to her: and that's a lot that's happened to us. This isn't going to be easy._ 

"Are you prepared for what we're going to see and hear?" Azure wanted to know. "From what you said, what happened to me is in there also." 

Adam put a careful arm around her. "I think I'm prepared. But are you?" 

Azure sighed, and her voice shook. "I have to face what happened sooner or later. Not only what happened to me, but to Aura. I'm as ready as I'm going to be." 

"You know I'll be there to help you," Adam promised her. "I'll always be there for you." 

Azure shivered a little. "Why can't I trust anyone?" she whispered. _It's like it was when Eric first showed up again. Only worse now._ 

"You will again." 

"I hope so," Azure sighed. "I like how you hold me." she sighed as Katia began to cry, and went to her, Adam following. Once they'd put their child to sleep, Azure glanced up at him. "Let's get some sleep." 

Adam nodded. "We've got a big day ahead of us," they went to bed, but Azure didn't fall asleep peacefully, no matter how much she wanted to. Adam asked gently, "Azure, do you want me to get you something to help you sleep?" 

Azure woke up a bit at the sound of his voice. "No, I'll be fine," she tried to fall asleep again, but to no avail. It was a long and mostly sleepless night for both of them.   
  


* * *

  


Slowly the Rangers came together in Aura's hospital room. The doctors were being kept away by all of her parents; leaving them the time they would need to do what needed to be done. Tommy glanced around at everyone. "Is it official? No one got much sleep last night?" 

Adam nodded. "Who could sleep?" he watched as Azure went to hold Aura's hand. 

"You're going to be coming back to us today," Billy took Aura's other hand, squeezing it with all his love. 

"It won't be long now, Aura." 

Azure glanced around. "How is this supposed to work?" they had discussed everything the night before, and the team was reduced to simply Azure, Billy, and Adam, the three closest to her. 

The Spirit of Earth appeared even as she asked that. "I will show you the way into her mind. Once you are there, I am not quite certain what you will see, but it will be horrible, that I do know. She has been trapped in this endless ring of memories for a month, and lately something worse has been added, but I cannot sense quite what it is." _Something that put her in fear of her life. Something horrible. Something to do with Zedd. I can sense no more than that._ 

As Azure looked at Aura, fear filled her eyes, and she almost jumped out of her skin when Adam spoke to her. "You okay?" 

"I. . .I. . .yes," she whispered. _What could be worse than what's happened to her already?_ 

Adam glanced over to Billy. "You ready?" 

"As ready as I'll ever be," Billy took a deep breath, gazing into the vacant eyes of his wife. _We're going to bring you back, Aura. No matter what it takes._ 

The Spirit gestured. Only Adam, Billy, and Azure saw what happened next: a road appeared at their feet, leading into a long, gray tunnel. The others watched as the three of them stared into nothingness. 

"Enter the world of Aura's mind," the Spirit intoned. "And know that everything you see is only a product of that mind. Be wary, be warned, and be careful." 

Adam glanced down as Azure's hand wrapped around his. "Here goes nothing!" he squeezed it gently and with love. 

"Let's do it." 

With Billy leading the way, they entered Aura's mind.   
  


* * *

  


"What's going on here?" Billy managed to make himself heard over what had to be the worst storm of all time! It was all they could do to remind themselves it was all within Aura's mind. Thunder, wind, lightning, rain, all raged in there. As they walked, every now and then even minor earthquakes shook the ground beneath their feet. 

"I don't like this place," Azure whispered, holding onto Adam tightly. _Why is her mind like this? I seriously doubt it's a 'brainstorm'._ 

"Neither do I," Adam told her. "I never dreamed Aura's mind was like this!" _She's always so calm. It just doesn't feel right._ 

Billy nodded. "You're not the only one!" _If I didn't know better, I'd swear the Spirit had sent us to the wrong place!_ 

Adam glanced around, and caught a glimpse of something unusual. "Hey, look!! A calm area over there!" 

"Good!" Azure sighed. They'd been in there less than a full minute, and with the way the storm was raging around them, she was already exhausted. 

Adam nodded. "Let's go. We need some time to think about what we're going to do in here," they headed over there, grateful to see the storm around them cease as they entered the green region. Adam examined the still place briefly. His eyes widened as he recognized where they were. "It. . .it's the Heart of Earth! Well, sort of!" 

Indeed it was that most tranquil of places, that beautiful realm where the Spirit of Earth dwelt. "What it looked like," Azure whispered, remembering how it had been during her last visit. She flinched almost automatically, remembering also how Eric had taken her from it. 

Adam nodded almost to himself. "This must be symbolic. This should be where Aura is linked to the Spirit of Earth," his head jerked up as the wind brought faint screams to them all. Screams they all recognized. Aura and Azure's both. "We have to find wherever Aura is in her mind," he glanced to where the screams seemed to be coming from. "We might want to look there." 

Azure turned to look where he was, and winced at the sound of her own voice. "Why did I agree to this?" she wondered to herself. _Facing my sister's nightmares: and my own. I can't do this. But I have to._ 

"You guys ready?" Adam took a deep breath. This had to be the strangest mission they'd ever went through in their entire lives. Azure didn't move; she was staring at where the screams were coming from. Adam called her name gently. 

"I wasn't as ready as I thought I'd be," Azure whispered, shaking. Adam laid a hand on her shoulder with all his love. 

"Azure, I know this is hard for you, but we have to do it," he reminded her. "Aura's life and sanity could depend on it." 

Azure sighed and nodded. "Let's go," she got to her feet and started with Adam and Billy outside the representation of the Heart. They hadn't taken five steps outside before Billy stopped suddenly paused. His eyes were as distant and vacant as Aura's own were. 

"Billy?" Adam whispered. Azure looked at her brother-in-law, her heart sinking. 

"I don't like this."   
  


* * *

  


_Billy wandered through a mist-filled corridor, brow furrowed in confusion. Where was he? What was going on? From ahead of him there came the sound of voices and laughter. He hurried forward, one of the voices sounded so familiar. . . _

_A door loomed up ahead of him, which he carefully slipped open and peeked into the room beyond. A familiar voice came from behind it, one he was floored to hear. _

_"Oh, Galan, I love you so much!" Aura had never sounded that much in love with HIM! Billy cracked open the door a bit farther, to see Aura and Galan entangled around each other in a wide, soft bed. His whispered denial went unheard by the couple. _

_"To think you were once married to that LOSER!" Galan chuckled as he ran a finger down Aura's spine. She giggled at that, stretching in pleasure. _

_"What did I ever see in Billy?" she mused, kissing along Galan's neck in that special way she had. Galan shrugged as he returned the kisses. _

_"Who knows. . .who knows?" Galan pushed her back to the bed, his kisses beginning to explore every part of her. She smiled as she returned the embrace. _

_"I've never been happier since I came here to you," she murmured as his arms slid around her. Billy stepped away from the door, letting it shut, and leaned against a wall. He felt as if his heart was breaking with pain to have seen that. _

_"This isn't happening," he whispered to himself. "This isn't happening at all. It can't be." he slid against a wall, tears rolling down his cheeks. "Aura. I will always love you. If Galan hadn't drugged you that time," he would never forget Aura's tear-filled admission of what had happened between the Amber Ranger and the Amber Ranger Hunter. _

_"Bi. . .Billy?" it was Aura's voice, soft, gentle, and so full of pain and weariness he couldn't stand it. As she spoke, everything went dark around him. _

_"Aura?" he looked up, standing. "Where are you?" _

_"How did you get here?" _

_He answered her, "The Spirit of the Earth. Azure and Adam are here too!" _

_"Be careful," her voice replied. "I don't know. . ." _

_"Aura!" he screamed, as the mists parted. . ._   
  


* * *

  


"Billy?" Azure stared at the Blue Ranger as his eyes cleared suddenly. Adam shook him by the shoulder carefully. 

"Billy, what happened? Man, you were just staring at nothing for almost a minute!" 

Billy frowned, shaking his head to clear what he'd seen away. "What? I was. . .man, that was so real!" 

"What was?" Adam didn't know what was going on, but he wanted to find out in a major hurry! Billy looked at them both, brow furrowed. 

"I think we need to be on our guards. I had a vision of Aura and Galan. . .more like a nightmare. Then I heard Aura," he shivered a bit at the memory of the pain in her voice as she had last spoken to him. _She's reliving so much of her life, and so much of it's bad._ 

"Galan?" Adam could go forever without hearing that name again. "He's dead!" 

Billy nodded. "I know. Come on, let's go find out how to get Aura out of herself," they started walking again, but hadn't gone far when Azure pointed out something. 

"What's that?" three people were sort of lounging around ahead of them. "Who are they?" 

"Can't be sure," they were too far to get a good look at them. "Who could it be in her mind?" 

Billy looked ahead, they looked familiar, but at their distance, he just couldn't be sure. "Let's go find out." 

The closer they got, the clearer the three people got, until Adam's eyes went wide with recognition. "Azure. . . that's you. . .and Aura. . .and . . ." 

Azure could only stare in pain. "Eric."   
  


* * *

  


_"This is the best day," Azure leaned against Eric, his arm wrapped warmly around her. They might be only thirteen, but they loved each other. Her fourteen-year-old sister, Aura, was a few feet away, looking off into the distance with sad gray eyes. _

_"Yes," she murmured, sighing a little. Eric planted a small kiss on Azure's head, and she smiled. She had never been happier since they had started dating. Their parents thought it was rather amusing, and most of their 'dates' had been nothing more than a walk to the movies or something similar. Azure had in mind that would change as they got older. _

_"The best in a long time," he said, smiling at her. He was so handsome. . . _

_"You're thinking about him, aren't you?" Azure knew that look in her sister's eyes. She was thinking about Billy Cranston. _

_Aura smiled at her. "Don't I always?" _

_"If Billy only knew," Azure giggled, remembering how over the past four years Aura had missed him with all her heart. She truly loved him, Azure believed. Maybe they'd get together someday. Who knew? Aura seemed about to say something, when she winced and put a hand to her forehead in a gesture Azure knew all too well. _

_"Not again," she groaned. Infrequently Aura had migraines, nothing too serious the doctors had said, but she usually had to lay down somewhere dark for a while until they passed. _

_"What is it? Headache?" Eric frowned, worrying. Azure nodded and got to her feet. So much for a pleasant day outdoors. _

_Azure nodded. "This is not happening. Eric, could you help me get her somewhere dark?" Eric nodded and helped Aura to her feet, supporting her as they headed back to the Robinsons' apartment. Their parents had just set up a darkroom for her, a deeply shadowed place where she could wait out her headaches. Aura looked up at them both as she settled in, and managed a small smile. _

_"Thanks, Azure, Eric," she sighed. "This is a bad one." _

_"No problem," Azure smiled as she held Eric's hand. "No problem at all."_   
  


* * *

  


"What was that all about?" Adam stared as the three people faded away. It was a memory, Azure had told them. Azure looked at him, regrets in her eyes. "Azure, please, talk to me." 

"It was. .. just a day in the park. Sometime before he changed. ..before he tried to. . .," she turned away, not able to look at him. 

"Before the. . .," Adam tried to get her to say it. She growled at him angrily, "You know very well what I was talking about!" 

Adam sighed. "Come on. Let's get moving. We'll probably be running into a lot of memories around here. Aura's reliving every bad one she's ever had. That must've been stirred up because we're here." 

"Let's go," Azure sighed as they started to walk again. History repeated itself a moment later, as in mid-step Adam froze, eyes gazing off into the distance. Billy looked at him. 

"Great," he groaned. "Wonder what he's seeing."   
  


* * *

  


_Adam stared in disbelief as Azure and Eric, a few feet away, kissed. "I love you, Eric," she smiled warmly into his eyes. "I'm so glad I changed my mind." _

_"So am I," he kissed her, his hands caressing every part of her body. Adam couldn't believe it as she began to return the touches. _

_"Azure, what are you doing?" he screamed, but it was obvious neither of them heard him. "Azure, please, no, don't! Azure, you said you'd never go to him!" _

_In between gasps of pleasure, Azure moaned, "I'm so glad I left. . .whatever his name was. He isn't HALF the man you are!" _

_"I know!" Eric laughed. "I know!" _

_Adam stared, not believe his eyes in the slightest. "You . . .you said. . .," something occurred to him. "You said you wouldn't leave me, and I believe you: how can you leave me for someone who's dead?" _

_Everything went black, and Adam looked around, not sure what had just happened. "What the?" he murmured. _

_"Adam. . .Adam, you're really here?" it was Aura! He remembered what Billy had told them, about how he'd faced a nightmare. It must be a side effect of the spell that kept her like that, he decided. _

_"Aura?" he called out, hoping to be able to find her. "I'm here, why wouldn't I be?" _

_"Why are you in my mind?" _

_"To help you," he told her. "We're going to find you, Aura, and heal you!" _

_She was silent for a moment. "There are dangers here," she finally said. "Remember, most of what you see is . .. my. . ."_   
  


* * *

  


"Aura?" 

Azure was staring at him in confusion as his mind cleared from the memory/nightmare/whatever. He muttered Azure's name briefly, and she took his hand. "I'm here," she whispered. 

"I. . .I saw you . . . with. . .," he couldn't say it. He just couldn't. Azure prodded him into it, though, and he finally whispered, "Eric." Azure looked sick to her stomach at that thought. "It was only a nightmare. I heard Aura, she mentioned dangers." 

Billy nodded. "It appears that her mind is full of booby-traps." 

"Why would it be, though?" Adam wondered. They had no answer for that, though, as they continued to walk through the storm of Aura's mind. All around them, suddenly, was a room. All unknowing, they had entered another memory. 

"No, not this. .. anything but this," Azure moaned as she recognized the setting with fear-filled eyes.   
  


* * *

  


_Azure was huddled in a corner as Aura slammed open the door and came over to her. "What happened?" the elder girl asked, with an edge to her voice that said she already knew. _

_"He. . .he. . .," Azure whimpered. "He did things." _

_Aura's hands clenched into fists. Deep within herself, she felt something stirring, something that declared this HAD to be avenged. "Was it Eric?" at Azure's frightened nod, Aura turned to the boy who had once been their friend. With a viscious, almost animal-like sound, she jumped at him, kicking him far away from Azure. _

_"No one hurts my sister!" she told him. "Ever!" She slammed a foot into his groin with all her strength, then watched in pleasure as he doubled over in pain. Almost before she could do anything about it, though, he had recovered, and was pulling a gun on her! "Sorry, Eric, things don't work that way here!" she snarled, moving faster than she had ever thought possible, and disarming him. _

_Aura snatched up the phone as Eric moaned helplessly in a corner, and put in a call to the cops. No one noticed the tears in her eyes as she spoke in her usual strong, confidant voice to them, detailing what she was certain of, and what she suspected. As sirens sounded in the background, she wiped the tears away, and glared nastily at Eric. _

_She'd never let him hurt her again._   
  


* * *

  


"Was. . .that what I think it was, Azure?" Adam asked gently. Azure was still staring at where the dream memory had been. 

"Why that?" she murmured. _I tried so hard to forget that. Why did it have to show up again?_ 

Adam put a hand on her shoulder. "Azure, it's the past now," he tried to comfort her. 

"Is it?" Azure glanced at him. "It's still here!" she touched her temple lightly. "I can never forget it!" 

Adam was about to say something, when there was a shimmer in front of them. Aura appeared in front of them, crying on her knees, flickering from childhood to teenage years to adulthood. One thing remained the same: she was crying. "Aura?" Azure whispered. She had never seen her sister like that before. 

"Couldn't help her in time. . .couldn't save her," the image whispered, tears pouring down the almost-transparent cheeks. 

Azure came over to her. "Save who?" _I think I know, though. I don't care of this image can't hear me. . ._ 

"My sister. . .oh, God, he hurt her and I couldn't do anything to stop him!" Aura moaned. Azure shook her head. 

"You weren't in the room," she whispered, remembering how it had began. "We wanted to be alone. .. ," _I was thirteen, and as curious as a cat. And Eric used that curiosity. He was slime even then, and I just didn't know it._ 

"I should've known," the image berated herself. "I should've seen the signs. I'm so stupid! I can't let her be hurt, ever again!" 

Adam stared at Azure. "Azure, did you say what I think you did?" 

His wife was staring at the representation of her sister. "That's why you. . if I had known. . .," _that's why she's always been so protective of me since then. She blames herself!_ She looked up, she'd heard what Adam said. "Yes." 

"Did you know what he was going to try?" Adam didn't want to hear the answer, but knew he had to. He had to know. 

"I was only thirteen, what do you think?" she hissed back at him. They all looked as the image of Aura stood up. She thrust a fist towards the sky, eyes streaming tears as she flickered through every age. Azure realized this meant all her life Aura had wanted to protected her. 

"I swear from this day forward, no one will ever harm Azure Robinson again. No matter what it costs me, even if it's my life!" 

Adam nodded. "You know, I always wondered why she's so protective of you." 

Azure sighed a little as the image faded, and was about to speak, when her own personal nightmare came to life all around her.   
  


* * *

  


_Someone seized her from behind, and a familiar voice growled in her ear. "Time to go meet your new husband!" Aura hissed. Azure turned as best she could, staring into her sister's eyes. _

_"Aura?" _

_"Gee, you catch on fast, don't you?" Aura had never looked so evil, so full of hate and malice as she dragged Azure towards a shadowed figure. _

_Azure struggled as best she could. "Why are you doing this?" _

_"Why shouldn't I?" Aura laughed as the shadowed figure stepped forward, revealing himself to be Eric. Azure couldn't break her sister's steel grip, no matter how hard she tried. _

_"Thank you, Aura," Eric chuckled. "Welcome, Azure." _

_Azure stared; this couldn't be happening! "How?" _

_"You didn't really think it was that easy to get rid of me and my father, did you?" Eric laughed as Aura threw Azure towards him. She screamed for Adam as Eric seized her tightly. _

_"Leave me alone!" she demanded. "Just leave me alone!" _

_Eric forced her into a kiss, then glanced over to Aura. "Double wedding, right?" Aura nodded, and Azure was suddenly nauseated as she saw Zedd standing beside her. Aura turned to him, love in her evil eyes. Eric pulled her attention back to him. "Come on, it's not so bad. Well, for you it will be!" _

_Azure managed to kick him and squirmed away. Aura appeared in front of her suddenly. "No! You aren't leaving your new husband so soon!" _

_Azure stared at her sister, catching sight of the gleaming amber pendent around her neck. There was something in her head, a voice, so faint she couldn't understand what was being said. "Want to bet!" she yelled, just as she was grabbed from behind. _

_"I do believe I do!" Aura smiled visciously as Eric seized her tightly. Azure stared at her sister, wanting to know why she'd been betrayed like this. Aura shrugged as she asked her. _

_"Because I wanted to!" _

_Azure heard the voice in her mind again, but though it was a bit garbled, she knew it now. "Spirit?" _

_"Yes, it's me, Azure," the voice was so warm and loving and full of life, it could never be mistaken for anything else but the Spirit of Earth's. _

_"What is going on here?" _

_The Spirit told her, "This is a nightmare, Azure. Nothing but a nightmare that you must conquer to continue!" Azure was a little confused as she glanced from Aura to Eric. Then she smiled suddenly. The Spirit sensed her triumph. "Remember, Azure. Remember what I have told you." _

_Azure turned to Eric, eyes blazing. "You have no power over me!" _

_Eric stared in shock. "What?" _

_"You heard me!" she laughed. "You have no power over me! You can't control me from where you are, you're dead!" she glanced at where Zedd stood next to Aura. "Both of you!" _

_And with the realization of that, both of the images faded away, never to return._   
  


* * *

  


"Azure?" Adam looked at his wife, heart pounding, wondering what she'd seen. She looked over at him, then tackled him with a tight hug. 

"What happened?" he asked, holding her close to him. She smiled a little, feeling still the courage within her. 

"Later. I'll tell you later," she promised. "Let's just concentrate on getting Aura back." 

_Remember, be strong._ The Spirit whispered to them all. Azure smiled her thanks. She knew she couldn't have done it without the Spirit's wisdom. 

"Which way do we go?" Adam asked as he looked around. The screams were loud enough to shatter eardrums here. Azure shivered, then pointed to where they were the loudest. 

"That way," she whispered. Together they started down what appeared to be a hill, and as they crested it, stared down into the valley on the other side. "There she is!" 

Aura, chained and on her knees in the middle of a whirling series of scenes, was on the other side. Billy slid down the hill as Azure remained frozen for a few seconds. "Aura?" he whispered gently. 

She looked up and jumped away from him. "Now what kind of nightmares do I have to go through?" she muttered. 

"I'm not a nightmare. I'm real. I'm here to help you," he held out his hand gently. "Zedd can't touch you anymore!" 

Aura almost reached out to him, then pulled her hand back. "No! I've seen this before, you won't fool me again, Zedd!" 

"Aura!" Azure came down the slope running. "He is Billy! Believe me, please!" 

Aura shook her head in shock. "No, don't bring Azure into this. Let me have some untarnished memories!" Azure started towards her. 

"I am Azure. Remember. .. remember New York, how much I hated that apartment, that whole city! The subway. . .," Azure looked over at Billy. "Care to give me a hand?" 

Billy hated seeing the terrified look in his wife's eyes. "Remember when you were seven and you pushed Jason into the lake?" 

Aura's eyes softened a bit. "He. . .he couldn't swim then." 

"That's right, he couldn't," Azure nodded. "You jumped in and pulled him out!" 

Aura smiled a little. "Then I taught him to swim." 

"Aura, it really is us. We are our friends, and more," Adam urged her. Azure kept trying. 

"And remember when we were at the zoo? Zack tripped when trying to imitate a penguin?" 

Aura giggled, a sound sweet to all their ears. "I remember," she didn't notice, but all around her, the images of all the hideous things that she had ever experienced began to fade. 

Azure took a deep breath. "They can't hurt you anymore. Never again will they harm another living soul." 

"I. . .I don't know," Aura whispered as one of the images, of Zedd in the past, flickered by her. 

"They can't!" Azure insisted. "They're dead, both of them!" 

The images faded away, but were all replaced by one, one none of them recognized. Aura, with a knife in her hand, holding it over one wrist. "Dead," she moaned. They could all feel what she had felt in that moment: self-hate, despair, loathing of herself, loathing of Zedd. .. 

"Listen to me!" Azure screamed. This was something she knew all too well. "Zedd did this to you! As both Eric and Galan made me! he tortured you until you thought you could no longer live with the memories. Just like I did when Eric showed up again!" 

"I can't live with them!' Aura screamed. Azure wasn't having any of that, though! 

"Don't you think I feel the same way?" 

Aura stared at her sister. "You. . you can. You've always been stronger than me!" 

"Bull!" Azure snapped. "Who saved my life time after time? Who pulled me out of my catatonic state after the second time?" Aura stared ceaselessly at the memories. "Aura, you are a fighter! You can beat these! Yes, they'll always be there, in some part of your mind, but you must not let them rule you!" she paused for a moment. "The Spirit told me something very useful. Dare you call a part of her weak?" 

Aura literally recoiled. That went against everything that made her the Amber Ranger. "Never!" her eyes widened as the chains vanished. "It's over!" she stood up as the memories faded. "It's really over!" 

"Aura?" Azure whispered as the mental storm ended. Aura ran over to them, smiling with joy. 

"You brought me out of it!" she told them. "But now you have to get out!" 

Azure nodded. "See you back in the real world," she said. Aura smiled as they faded away, and the last thing they heard was a soft whisper on the wind. 

"Thank you."   
  


* * *

  


There was barely a second of transition before they were back in Aura's hospital room: in a heap on the floor. "You did it!" Rocky exclaimed. 

"Yes, they did!" Aura said from her bed. She was sitting up, eyes open and full of light and joy, and smiling. "They saved me!" 

Azure, who had been on the top of the heap, got to her feet and wrapped her arms around Aura in a hug. "Aura, you're back!" 

Tears of joy flowed down Aura's cheeks as they hugged. "Thank you, Azure, thank you! Thank all of you!" 

Billy hugged her as well, once he had gotten up. "I guess now is as good a time as any to tell you: we're moving! I don't know where, but we are getting out of that house!" 

Aura smiled and nodded; she had enough bad memories of that place now. Everyone smiled suddenly, as the Spirit of Earth rejoined them. "Hello, Aura!" 

Aura slid out of bed and quietly made her way to her other half. "You were there, inside my mind. I felt you." 

"I am always with you, you need to remember that." 

Aura nodded. "I know that, now," she smiled a little. "Just when I learn the truest lessons of being an Amber Ranger, I'm no longer needed. I did hear someone say Zedd and Eric were dead, right?" 

"That is correct. They have been destroyed," the Spirit informed her. Aura sighed a little. 

"That's what I was going to do once. So, who did what I screwed up on?" 

"Your sister," the spirit smiled a little. Aura stared at her, as did Azure. 

"Excuse me, Azure, not that I'm complaining, but how did you kill them?" Aura wanted to know all the details! 

"I sort of brought their house down on them," Azure mumbled, ready to bolt at any second. Aura laughed a little; to be rid of those monsters was a dream come true! 

"You brought the entire palace down?" 

Azure, tears in her eyes, ran out of the room after a muttered, "Yes!" Aura tried to go after her, only to find she was simply too weak at the moment. Adam glanced at them all. 

"I'll see you later," he headed after Azure. The Spirit helped Aura back into bed, she still needed to rest. 

"You would have been proud," the Spirit told her. "She has fulfilled her destiny." 

Aura smiled. "I am proud. Wait. .. fulfilled her destiny?" as the Spirit explained the prophecy, Aura smiled, then sighed a bit. "I hope she'll be all right. I'd hate to come back just to lose her." 

The Spirit told her, "She will be fine," _for now._ Aura yawned deeply. 

"For some reason, I am very tired," she murmured. Billy kissed her gently on the forehead. 

"Sleep. I'll bring the twins and little Shaya tomorrow," he promised. Aura smiled, then closed her eyes. In a few moments, she had lapsed into a deep and restful slumber.   
  


* * *

  


Adam found Azure sitting on a bench outside, crying her eyes out. He joined her quietly, speaking her name just loud enough to get her attention. "Wanna talk about it?" 

She closed her eyes briefly. "I. . .I'm so ashamed." 

"You have nothing to be ashamed of!" he told her. How could she be ashamed of anything? 

She stared at him. "Don't I? You heard what I said in Aura's mind, you know what I did on the moon! And you tell met hat I have nothing to be ashamed of?" 

"On the moon," he thought deeply. "Killing Eric and Zedd. You heard the Spirit, it was your destiny to do that. If you hadn't, do you think we would have ever freed Aura from that loop?" 

Azure shook her head. "But what about what I said in her mind?" 

"About that first time with Eric?" at her nod, he continued, "You were thirteen. You didn't know what was going to happen; everyone makes mistakes. And his was doing that to you: and he paid for it." 

Azure leaned against him. "Almost all my life has been hell. Can it get any worse?" she wondered. 

"If it can't get any worse, then it can only get better," He told her. She smiled as she kissed him. 

"It already has," she told him. As he kissed her back, he whispered, "I love you, Azure Park." 

"Thank you," she told him. "Thank you for everything. I Love you with all my heart, and only you: forever and a day." 

He smiled. "As I love you. Forever and eternity." 

"I'm glad I went into her head," Azure decided. "If not only to get her back, but to face what happened to me." 

Adam touched her hand gently. "I'm glad you finally did face it. She's proud of what you did, you know. To Eric and Zedd." 

"I know," Azure smiled a bit. 

"In fact, I think she's a little jealous," Adam chuckled. "Because she didn't get to do it like she wanted to." 

Azure smiled. "She'll get over it, besides, I still can't get over the look on their faces when they realized that I had joined with the Spirit of the Earth." 

"What was it like?" 

Azure laughed at the memory. "Eric's eyes got huge and all he said was 'oh shit'. In fact, I think he did!" 

"I wouldn't be surprised!" Adam enjoyed the thought of that. "I've seen Aura as the Guardian, and we expect it from her. But to see you: that must have scared them witless!" 

Azure shivered. "it scared me." 

"Why is that?" Adam wondered. "Aura says it's a major rush." 

She shrugged. "I don't know. I was already scared, but that scared me even more." 

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact you're not connected to the Spirit like Aura is," he suggested as she leaned against him. 

"Probably. This is the best," she smiled as he put an arm around her. 

"I know. I love you." 

She gave him a playful look. "Let's go home," she tickled his neck gently. "We've got some catching up to do." 

And so they did. 

**The End**


	35. Hidden Amber

**Hidden Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

Rita Repulsa, Rito Revolto, and Master Vile all stared out the window of Vile's SpaceSkull as it drew nearer to Earth and Earth's moon. Rita's eyes widened briefly as she saw the ruins of the palace, and she gritted her teeth. "Zedd," she whispered. 

"He never said what he was coming back for, did he?" her father probed. Rita nodded. 

"Never. I have an idea, though," Rita growled lightly to herself. "Probably that brat of his." 

Vile shrugged. "Perhaps. Where is that fool Goldar? Was he still here?" 

"I think he went with Zedd," Rita said, glancing down at the moon. "He might have been," she saw something moving below her. "There he is. He's alive." 

Vile sighed briefly; he'd hoped to get rid of both Zedd and Goldar this time. "I suppose we should pick him up. HE might know how this happened!" 

"All right," Rita teleported him into the SpaceSkull, and Vile glared at him nastily. 

"What happened there, monkey-boy?" he growled. Goldar shrank back in fear from the great lord of evil, then reported what had went on. 

"That Power-brat's sister and that blasted Spirit of Earth destroyed the castle! Something about her being written about in some prophecy!" 

To say Vile was annoyed was an understatement. "So the prophecy came true. And Zedd was in the castle when it collapsed?" 

Goldar nodded. "Yes, she killed Zedd and his son Eric." 

"Good," Vile whispered just loud enough for Rita to hear. "I never liked either of them!" _From what I heard from Zedd, I wouldn't have liked his son one little bit! They're too much alike!_ 

"Father!" Rita snapped. "That was my husband!" 

"I know, I know!" Vile returned. "And there will be revenge; Zedd was a powerful force of evil. And powerful forces of evil deserve to be avenged." 

Rita couldn't believe one part of Goldar's story. "I can't believe it was Azure Robinson who killed them!" 

"Yes," Vile nodded. "It is quite amazing. Wasn't she the one whom Eric was obsessed with for a number of years?" _Zedd certainly bragged enough about his son and his son's obsession. I think I'd know the brat on sight!_ 

Rita nodded. "And she was quite literally terrified of him too!" 

"Perhaps we can use that," Vile mused, an evil plan entering his mind. "If she is so scared of him, she should see him: everywhere. And at all times." 

"Oh, I like that idea!" 

"And only she shall see him!" Vile laughed. "She shall be driven to insanity!" 

Rita laughed, then turned to Goldar, wanting the answer to a question. "Goldar? What was Zedd coming back here for?" 

"He wanted to clear up some unfinished business with the Amber Ranger, something that went back fifty thousand years." 

"What kind of unfinished business?" Vile demanded. Goldar shrank away again, barely managing to stutter out, "Something like when he was on Kalakan, she was there too. Seemed she traveled back in time. ..and he sorta. ..fell in love with her." 

"He what?" Rita screeched 

"He said she led him on!" Goldar tried to defend his master even in death. Vile laughed. 

"Are you serious?" at Goldar's nod, Vile looked to Rita. "It appears your husband was no quite honest with you, my dear daughter!" 

Rita growled, "She came onto him and she will pay also!" 

"And what sort of plans do you have for her?" Vile wanted to know if his daughter was living down to the expectation he had for her. 

"That I do not know," Rita wanted to think about this; it required the utmost thought. 

Vile nodded. "Revenge for all that has been done will come in due course!" 

Rita laughed wickedly. "That it shall! Shall we start with Azure?" 

"Yes!" Vile nodded. "Time for her to be driven insane!" Rita and her evil family's cold laughter echoed in the Space Skull for a very long time.   
  


* * *

  


Once again, Azure, Adam, and Aura were gathered in the park, enjoying yet another beautiful Angel Grove day. Azure held Katia gently, feeding her, and smiled a little. "She sure eats a lot!" 

Aura nodded; the Amber Ranger had never looked happier than she had since her friends had healed her mind three weeks earlier. "Almost as much as Rocky!" 

Azure glanced to her husband. "You didn't tell me you two were related!" 

"We're not!" Adam chuckled. "He just baby-sat her while you were in the hospital; it must've rubbed off!" 

Azure groaned sarcastically. "Great! Three months and she's already picked up bad habits from him!" 

"I hope it doesn't rub off on mine!" Aura glanced at her own three children, the twins playing happily with each other, and her own smallest daughter in her arms. 

"It shouldn't," Azure smiled a little. The past three weeks had been purest bliss for them all. From the moment Aura's eyes had opened, things had only gotten better and better. Zedd and Eric were gone forever, Galan had long since been disposed of, and Zordon was keeping an eye out in case Rita returned. 

"I hope not," Aura grinned. "I don't think we could afford three appetites like that!" 

Azure opened her mouth to speak, when a sudden bout of dizziness hit her. "Ohh," she whispered as it passed. _That was strange._ 

"Azure?" Aura asked, a worried lilt to her voice. "Are you all right?" 

Azure handed Katia to her husband, and rubbed her temples lightly. "I'm okay," she glanced over to Aura, and her eyes widened in shock. "No. . ." 

Aura frowned. "Azure, are you sure you're okay?" 

Adam was as worried as Aura was. "You don't look okay." 

Azure kept staring, shaking a little. "It can't be," she half-whispered. "Adam, I want to go home!" 

"What can't be?" Aura wanted to know. _Something's going on here. Something is most definitely not right!_ 

"Sure," Adam was a little confused as he helped Azure to her feet. She slipped a little as she stood, grabbing onto the tree to stop herself from falling. 

"This isn't happening," she muttered to herself. _I'm not seeing Eric behind Aura, staring at me. I can't be; he's dead, I killed him myself!_ 

Adam looked at her, concerned. "Maybe I should take you to a doctor." 

"A doctor won't be able to help me!" Azure snapped. Surprised, Adam stepped back, looking almost as frightened as she was, but for different reasons. 

"Azure, what's wrong with you?" Aura wanted to know. She was getting extremely worried about her sister. 

Azure closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again. "I'm sorry," her eyes flew behind him and widened as she saw Eric standing there again. "Can't you see him?" she pointed, hand trembling. 

Adam glanced to where she was pointing. "See what?" _There's nothing there!_ 

"He's standing right there!" Azure almost shrieked as she pointed. "Why can't you see him?" she was close to tears in frustration! 

"Who is it, Azure?" Adam asked. The fear in her eyes was familiar. . .too familiar. With an almost audible snap, he realized where he'd seen that before. "Eric. You're seeing Eric, aren't you?" 

Her nod was all they needed. "Eric's dead, Azure, you can't be seeing him!" Aura told her. Azure looked at her sister. 

"But I am!" 

"There's no way, Azure," her husband shook his head. Something unbelievably strange was going on here! 

Azure stared at them both. "You don't believe me!" breaking down into tears, she ran away from them both as fast as she could. Aura, gray eyes clouded, looked to Adam. 

"What's wrong with her, Adam?" 

Her friend and brother-in-law shook his head. "I wish I knew. I'm going to go talk to her. You going to be okay?" 

Billy's voice floated from over Aura's shoulder. "She'd better be." 

Aura smiled a little as she turned to her husband, nodding briefly to Adam as she did so. As Adam ran off to find Azure, Aura sighed. "I really hope she's going to be all right." 

"She will," Billy reassured her. He didn't quite know what was going on, but Azure had come through everything life had thrown her so far. She would deal with whatever this was.   
  


* * *

  


As Adam entered their apartment, he heard Azure crying heartbrokenly from their bedroom. Softly from the doorway, he said, "Azure, I'm sorry." 

"He's haunting me now," she whispered, eyes closed. She had never looked so vulnerable in all her life. 

Adam tried to be reasonable. "If it is him, he's just a ghost. He can't hurt you. All he can do is frighten you, and only if you let him." 

"Are you sure?" Azure asked. She opened her eyes as she turned to him, and screamed as Eric met her gaze. Adam glanced to where she was looking, and frowned a little as he saw nothing. 

"You're seeing him again?" Azure stared and nodded briefly. "Where is he?" Azure pointed to a chair next to the desk on the far side of the room, and Adam quickly moved to stand in between her and that chair. Her eyes softened a bit, then she sighed. 

"He's moved," she closed her eyes. 

Adam sighed a little. "Azure, he's only a vision, he's not real, and he can't hurt you anymore." 

"I know," Azure nodded. "But it's eerie being watched. Even by a vision." 

Adam took her hands carefully. "Let him stare all he wants to! That's all he can do anymore!" 

Azure looked at him, tears in her eyes. "I don't want him to, Adam!" Adam kissed her gently. 

"Azure, it'll be all right," he reassured her. "I won't let him, dead or alive, hurt you ever again." 

"I hope so," Azure whispered, trembling. "Oh, I hope so."   
  


* * *

  


Vile's disgusting laughter spread throughout the SpaceSkull. "Oh, this is going perfectly already!" he crowed in triumph. 

"But she keeps closing her eyes!" Rita said petulantly. Her eyes widened suddenly, and Rito would have sworn he saw a little light bulb coming on over her head. "What if she always sees him, even when she has her eyes closed?" 

"Excellent!" Vile approved of that. "And what of the Amber Ranger? Have you any ideas on how to deal with her as yet?" 

Rita thought that over for a moment. "What about sending down a monster? One that she has to fight alone!" 

"How so?" Vile shrugged. "She'll just call those other pathetic Rangers to help her!" 

Rita smiled evilly. "The one that I'm thinking of is Blocker. You know, the one that blocks communication just by the fact it exists." 

"Perfect!" Vile was so proud of his evil daughter! "She will fight and die alone! When will you send him?" 

Rita glanced towards Earth and smiled. "What about now? Have her fight him for a bit, then call him back, then send him again," she laughed. "Torture the poor thing!" 

"Oh, yes! You are so good at torture, Rita! You take after me!" 

"Thank you, Father!" Rita smiled, and summoned Blocker. Soon, both the Amber Ranger and her sister would be punished for what they had done to her husband!   
  


* * *

  


Billy and Aura lay side by side on the hill in the park, enjoying this time of peace. Billy glanced at his watch suddenly, and groaned. "Man, I promised Tommy I'd meet him for that tuxedo fitting!" Tommy and Kim had postponed their wedding once Zedd and Eric had returned, now the happy event was to be the following spring. They believed by then things would have calmed down enough for them to be married in peace. 

"You go on," Aura told him. "I'll be okay here." _I need to learn to be on my own again, anyway._ 

Billy kissed her gently. "If you need anything, call, promise?" 

"You know I will," she returned the kiss gently. She hadn't really been alone since she'd awakened from the endless loop, and she was beginning to be just a little tired of the constant attention from her friends. Before things could get going any farther, Billy stepped away. 

"See you at home!" he wandered off down the hill, every bit as happy as his wife. She watched as he left, sighing happily. 

"I'm so happy," she murmured to herself. "And so glad to be free of that loop." _I relived everything so many times. So very many times. . ._ 

"Hello, Amber Ranger!" a monster was in front of her! Aura growled, leaped to her feet, and reached for her communicator, no way was she going to face this thing on her own. The monster laughed evilly. "It won't work! This is between you and me!" 

Aura snarled, "Who are you, who sent you, and what do you want?" she was morphed a moment later, grateful that no one was near enough to see this. The monster charged her; she barely managed to get out of the way in time. 

"I am Blocker, and I have been sent by someone you should fear! I want you, in conjunction with Zedd's death!" 

Aura just managed not to tremble when she heard Zedd's name. She forced memories away of what had happened in his palace, and took a deep breath, controlling her emotions perfectly. 

"Did you kill him?" 

Aura shook her head, calling her Ax to her in the same moment. "No, but I wanted to!" she charged, only to have it deflected by the monster. 

"Then maybe I should go after your sister! The one who did!" 

Aura snarled and swung her Ax. "Leave her alone!" the monster laughed and dodged once again. 

"My, aren't you overprotective! You should be worried about yourself at the moment!" the monster charged, almost knocking her down if she hadn't managed to get out of the way in time. 

_Time for the obligatory Power Ranger Snappy Comeback to Monster Threat._ "Me, worried? Over a walking trashcan like you? Oh, you've got to be kidding!" 

"You should be!" Blocker blasted her before she could react with a powerful stun ray. As she tried to get her bearings again, the monster laughed at her. "Remember this, and this only: you will die! But not today! All in good time, Amber Ranger. . .all in good time!" 

As the creature vanished, Aura demorphed, shaking, and out of breath. She dropped to her knees, barely able to keep herself from trembling into a fit. Her head jerked up as Rocky and Kat ran up next to her. "Aura, are you all right?" Kat asked. "What happened?" 

"Monster," she breathed. "Couldn't call you guys, it was blocking my transmission." 

Rocky groaned, "Great. Just when we thought we were in for a break, this has to happen!" 

"I know," Aura sighed, telling them what the monster had told her. The only thing she left out was what it had said about Azure. That was something she would have to deal with on her own. Rocky sighed. 

"Let's get the others to the Command Center. They're going to want to hear about this," he suggested. Aura nodded, concealing the worry in her eyes as she did so. 

_The very last thing I wanted was to have to deal with someone wanting my life again. Wanting to hurt any of my family and friends. I wish people would just leave Earth alone. Then again, if they did, I'd be out of a job. Oh, well. I think I could learn to like unemployment. Guess I won't find out anytime soon what it's like._   
  


* * *

  


The whole team was assembled in the Command Center moments after Kat and Rocky had found Aura. "What's up, Rocky?" Tommy asked as they got there. Billy's quick eye noticed Aura was trembling, and went over to her, wondering what was wrong. She caught him in a harsh hug, then looked at them all. 

"I got jumped by a monster in the park after you left, Billy," she told them. Everyone looked upset; they knew how Aura hated being alone, the fact she'd deliberately put herself like that was a shock in itself, but to be attacked. . .and a monster, who was it this time? 

"Why didn't you call?" Billy wanted to know. _I should never have left her. I should've been there for her._ 

"Are you okay?" Azure muttered. She'd only come because she wanted to know if her vision of Eric continued even in the Command Center, which usually was proof against just about anything. She kept staring at the ground, not wanting really to look around and check things out. 

Aura took a deep breath. "I tried to call, but the thing was blocking my communicator somehow, and I'm okay, Azure." her sister nodded, and Billy headed for the computers, wanting to scan to see what was going on here. 

"Who and what is attacking us now?" he wondered. Aura told them again what the monster had told her, but once more she left out how it had threatened to go after Azure. That was personal; if it so much as looked at her sister, she was going to take it down, on her own, with an army, it didn't matter how, just as long as the thing was gone. 

Azure glanced up, wanting to look at Aura and see if she was telling the truth about how she was, but her eyes were met instead by the viscious face of Eric. "No!" she whispered, blood draining from her face. 

"What is it?" Aura noticed the terror in her sister's eyes. Adam stepped over to her, putting an arm around her. 

"Is it him again?" 

Azure nodded as she closed her eyes, but a moment later an ear-splitting scream broke the silence of the Command Center. _I'm here with you, Azure, and you will never escape from me. I will haunt you forever! You killed me, and I do not like being killed! You will pay for it: with your life and your sanity!_ 

Tommy wanted some explanations. "What is going on here?" he asked, from anyone who could answer him. Adam explained what he knew of the situation as Azure sank to the floor crying. Aura went over to her, holding her as best she could, wanting to protect her from everything the world had to throw at her. 

"Why can't he leave me alone? He's dead, and I can't get away from him!" 

Aura looked up at the others, stormclouds in those gray eyes. "Rita. It has to be Rita. She's the only one who could or would do something like this to Azure." 

"If it is, she's not going to get away with this," Tommy swore. He wasn't going to see Azure hurt anymore than she already had been. People were going to leave his friends alone! 

Aura looked down at Azure as her sister whispered, "Help me," Azure had never looked so scared or so helpless. Aura wrapped a protective arm around her sister, her heart breaking with the pain she knew Azure was feeling. 

"I'll do what I can," she swore. _This will be ended._ 

"He's in my head," Azure told them. "I can hear him." 

Zordon was the object of Aura's regard next. "Is there anything you can do to help her, Zordon?" 

ALPHA, RUN A SCAN ON HER. Zordon ordered. CHECKING FOR SPELLS, POTIONS, ANYTHING THAT IS ABNORMAL. He loved Azure every bit as much as he did the Rangers; she had been through just as much as they had over the last few years. A few minutes later, Alpha stood up, the results in hand. 

"Ay-yi-yi, this can't be!" he moaned. "She is under a spell, one used by Master Vile!" 

MASTER VILE IS RITA REPULSA AND RITO REVOLTO'S FATHER. HE IS ONE OF THE MOST EVIL BEINGS IN THE GALAXY, AND ALSO THE MOST POWERFUL OF THEM. Zordon explained; the Rangers remembered how Rita and Zedd had went to him when they'd first abandoned Earth. Now that Zedd was gone, Rita had obviously come running back with 'Dad' in tow. 

"Wonderful," Aura shivered a little. The last thing any of them needed or wanted in their lives was someone like this. Azure's trembling continued, as if it would never stop. 

"Get him out of my head, please!" Azure begged. "Get him out of there!" 

Aura sighed. "How can the spell be broken?" 

"I am not sure I know how to break it, Rangers," Alpha told them. "But I will keep on trying! There must be a way!" 

Azure whispered, "Aura? Adam?" both of them wrapped arms around her, encasing her in a warm cocoon of love and caring. "We're going to help you, Azure," Adam told her. 

"I can't get him out of my head," Azure shivered. "He keeps saying things," she managed to calm her breathing before she started to hyperventilate. Things were bad enough without that. 

Adam kissed her. "I love you, Azure," he told her. "Remember that and keeping hearing that instead of what he's telling you!" 

She shook her head. "I can't! I want to, but he won't leave me alone!" Azure was going to look at Adam, but pulled back as she saw Eric approaching, with something indistinct in his hand. 

_I used this on you once, would you like me to use it again?_ 

Azure didn't hear Aura's soft whisper of her name, all she heard was the hideous threat of the man she had once thought she loved. Over and over again he repeated that, no matter how many times she said no, as he drew closer to her. 

"Azure, calm down!" Aura tried to get through to her. "Whatever it is, Eric is dead, and can't hurt you! All he can do is scare you!" Aura got up and put herself between the image and Azure, figuring out it's location from where Azure stared so incessantly. Aura hugged her with all her might. "Azure, he can't hurt you!" 

"I'm scared," Azure whispered. Aura took a long look into her sister's eyes. 

"If you're scared," she said softly. "Then you're doing just what he always wanted you to. Be afraid of him, let him have that power over you," Azure leaned against Aura, crying into her shoulder, taking strength from the comfort being with her sister provided. "It's okay, Azure. I'll always be here for you." 

Adam knelt beside her. "As will I be also!" 

Azure looked at her husband, love overcoming the fear in her heart. "Why do you stay with a neurotic mess like me, Adam?" she wondered. He kissed her with all his love. 

"Because I love you," they held each other tightly. "Come n, you need some rest. Let's go home." 

Azure nodded. "If I can rest!" 

As the young couple teleported home, Aura turned to Zordon. "Let's get to work finding a cure; there has to be one, something to reverse that spell. I'm not going to let my sister go throughout her life seeing and hearing that nightmare given life!"   
  


* * *

  


"It's weird being here, and seeing him everywhere I turn," Azure said as she looked around their apartment. Eric's evil face followed her no matter where she turned. It was all she could do not to scream in fear constantly. Adam's presence had a lot to do with that. 

"He's not really there. It's just a ghost, or an illusion or something." 

Azure sighed. "But I can hear him. I see him. I close my eyes, and he's there. I'm almost scared to go to sleep tonight," _I don't want to dream about him. I most definitely do NOT want to dream about him!_ 

"Azure, you married a Power Ranger, your sister is an alien, and you're freaked by a ghost," Adam put an arm around her. "It is a little funny, you know." 

She smiled smally. "Just a little." 

"The point is, he's dead," Adam told her lovingly. "He can't hurt you, but he can make you hurt yourself. Don't let him." 

She nodded. "I know. But somehow, something feels wrong," she headed for the bedroom, intending on taking a shower. She'd had an extremely rough day. 

"Want something to eat?" Adam called from the kitchen. His culinary skills hadn't improved one little bit, but he still tried. 

"No, I'm not hungry," she replied as she came into the room. Her eyes widened as she saw a very familiar blade on her side of the bed, leaning up against the pillow. "Adam!" she screamed. He was there a moment later, and she turned to him. "It was on our bed. If he's dead, how did this get here? This is the knife. . .," she placed one hand on her stomach, remembering the pain as the weapon had sliced through her. 

"Azure," he came over to her. "Zordon said Master Vile put that spell on you so that you keep seeing him. He must've done this." 

Azure wasn't hearing that, though. "What if he's not dead? What if he's still alive somehow?" 

"Azure, he's not!" Adam tried to reassure her. "He's not!" 

She glared at him. "How do you know for sure?" when Adam didn't answer her, she nodded as she grabbed for her communicator. "I thought so!" 

"Azure, dead or alive, you can't let him rule your life like this!" he tried to reason with her some. 

She shook her head. "I need to know!" she was gone a moment later. Adam snarled under his breath a curse at Eric, dead or alive, for hurting her like this. A communicator button later, and all the Rangers were in the apartment with him. 

"What is it?" Tommy asked. Adam looked at him, fear in his eyes. 

"She found the knife Eric stabbed her with on the bed," he quickly explained what had happened and what she had told him before she had teleported off. Tommy could see the worry in his friend's eyes, and it scared him. 

"Let's get to the Command Center," Tommy glanced at them all. "We have to find her."   
  


* * *

  


"Goldar, you actually did something right for a change! That idea to put the knife onto her bed, was brilliant!" Rita laughed heartily. Goldar bowed low before her. 

"Thank you, my queen!" 

Rita chuckled. "She actually thinks that he is still alive!" Rita had never had so much fun with any evil plot, ever!" 

"With any luck, she'll kill herself!" Vile hoped so would, that would be one less person of good in the universe, and the end of the person who had killed Zedd and Eric. 

Rita nodded with evil delight. "We can hope she does, and doesn't pull through this time!" she looked down to see Azure teleport out. "And I have the perfect way to get her to do it, too!"   
  


* * *

  


Adam paced back and forth in the Command Center, while Aura did her best to help Billy scan, rather than pace herself. Adam sighed as he glanced towards the Viewing Globe. "Hasn't she been through enough this year?" 

Rocky nodded. "Yes, but apparently our enemies don't think so!" 

"Well, they'd better leave her alone from now on! I'm getting seriously ticked at people messing with my sister!" 

Adam snarled, "You're not the only one. I definitely don't want Katia growing up without her!" 

"She won't, Adam," Aura promised him. "We'll find Azure." 

Adam sighed as he started to pace again. "Where did she go?" he murmured to himself. "Where is she?" 

Aura sighed a little. "I'm going to go look for her. Personally I'd feel better doing that than just standing here messing with the computers." 

"Maybe we all should," Tommy suggested. "Billy, why don't you keep searching here?" 

Billy nodded. "As soon as I find out anything, I'll let you all know." 

"Good!" Tommy smiled a little. "Let's go find her, guys!"   
  


* * *

  


Azure sat by the lake, her arms wrapped around her knees, humming as she rocked back and forth, the knife still in her hand. _I see you found my present._ 

"Go away. Leave me in peace," she hissed to him. 

_No way. I can never leave the person who killed me in peace._ 

"All I did was fulfill a stupid prophecy!" Azure reminded the image of her long-hated foe. 

_You still killed me. And I will have my revenge for that._ 

Azure shrugged. "You're dead." 

_And you will be soon as well._ 

Azure backed away as best she could still sitting. "Wha. . .what makes you think that?" she wondered. 

_Because I am going to be with you until the day you DO die! I will not leave you, waking or sleeping, until the end of your life! You will never escape me! NEVER!_ 

Azure looked at him coldly. "Then I guess I'd better get used to seeing you, cause I am not going to put my family through what you put me through," she threw the knife far out into the lake. "They've been through enough." 

_I'm here to stay!_ Eric laughed, the sound echoing in her ears. Azure buried her face in her hands, until a well-known and well-loved voice came to her ears. 

"Azure?" 

She looked up to see Adam there. She got to her feet as he came over to her. "Azure, are you all right?" 

She sighed a little. "I don't know. He's still with me. And I. . the knife. . .I sort of. . ." 

"You what?" Adam was a little nervous over that, that blade her extremely bad memories for them all. 

Azure smiled as she pointed to the lake. "I threw it out there. I'm not going to let him ruin my life or yours. He did enough of that while he was alive." 

"Good," Adam hugged her gently. "Come on, let's get back home." 

Azure nodded. "Let's go. I want to get on with my life. Even with Eric in it." 

They shared one more kiss by the lake, before turning back to their home.   
  


* * *

  


Aura ran through the park, hoping to find Azure somewhere, anywhere. She was very worried over her sister; this was upsetting Azure almost as much or more as Eric being around had! She halted in her tracks as Blocker appeared in front of her! Oh, great! 

"Hello, Ranger!" it laughed at her mockingly. Aura growled under her breath, she didn't want to deal with this thing! 

"Oh, not you again!" she snapped. "I've got real problems, I don't have time for you!" 

The monster laughed as it approached her. "You won't have that problem much longer!" 

"Yeah, right!" Aura blinked in surprise as the creature sort of. . .split. . .two Blockers were now standing side by side, coming towards her! 

"By now," they spoke in unison. "She's gotten a little gift, and hopefully used it on herself!" 

Aura took another step back; this was getting to be extremely dangerous! She could take it alone, she knew, but it was creating reinforcements! She morphed quickly, knowing she'd need the extra power. "If she has, whoever sent it to her is toast!" she promised. I will keep my oath. 

It split again, now there were four of them! "You have no chance against the one who did!" 

"Great! Idiots in stereo!" Aura mocked as she charged one of them. Two more appeared, making six! 

"Try surround sound!" they all laughed together as they circled her. Aura spat an oath, then got down to the serious business of battle. One hit her from behind, almost knocking her down. She flipped backwards, kicking it away, then called up her Ax and started running through the Blockers like the Grim Reaper. That seemed to work well, until four more showed up, for a grand total of ten! 

"Let's see how you deal with this!" they all told her. Aura refused to back down, she was going to win this fight! But she already knew it wasn't going to be an easy one. 

"This isn't good," she muttered as she watched them circle her. "And that's even worse!" 

"Hello again, Amber Ranger!" Goldar boasted as he appeared to join the Blocker circle. Aura groaned. 

"Oh, great, ten mirror images and an idiot!" 

Goldar laughed as he charged her. "I bet you wish I was in the castle when it collapsed, don't you?" 

"Even if it didn't kill you, it would've improved your looks!" she told him as they fought. With eleven of them against her, Aura was fighting a losing battle. _I wish the others would show up! But this thing blocks communications just by existing, and they're probably still looking for Azure and the cure! I've got to win this!_ 

All her hopes of winning died when five of them grabbed her in a grip she couldn't break no matter how hard she tried. One of them tore her morpher off her belt, causing her to demorph. The other four started to punch the living daylights out of her. Goldar smiled a little as he watched. Rita and Vile had decided to get rid of the Amber Ranger in person, and he had been given the honor of capturing her: and dealing out as much pain as he could in the process. 

"Take her!" he ordered, once he'd left the sign his masters had ordered. A little something to throw the Rangers off track, and give them more time to deal with the pest Aura Cranston had made of herself. As the Blockers left, Aura held between them, Goldar kicked her morpher to one side. "She'll never need that again," he grinned to himself as he teleported away. 

It was a wonderful day for evil.   
  


* * *

  


Instead of going home, Adam and Azure teleported to the Command Center at a beep from his communicator. As they arrived, Azure glanced around at the others. They didn't say it, but they were all grateful she'd stopped screaming her head off. 

RANGERS, WE HAVE FOUND THE PLANT THAT WILL BREAK THE SPELL ON AZURE. Adam looked up, a large smile on his face. 

"You did?" 

YES. IT IS THE GLITTER ROSE, WHICH GROWS ON A PLANET FAR FROM EARTH. IT IS THE RAREST ROSE IN THE UNIVERSE, AND BLOOMS BUT ONCE EVERY THOUSAND YEARS. IT MUST BE CUT BY A WARRIOR FOR GOOD: BY A POWER RANGER, OR IT LOSES ALL VIRTUE. 

Azure smiled; glad to know there was a way for her to be free of the sight of Eric. She glanced around, and frowned. "Where's Aura?" 

Billy sighed. "We haven't heard from her, and she didn't answer her communicator." 

"Find her, please," Azure urged. "I want to tell her what's going on." 

Billy started to scan; he was sort of worried already. He went absolutely white when the scan results came in, though. "I. . .I can't find her on Earth." 

"What?" Azure asked, not believing this was happening again. 

"She's not on Earth," Billy repeated. "At least not showing up on my scans." 

Azure took a deep breath, trying to be logical. "Where is she. . .or was she. . .last?" 

Billy read off the location co ordinate, then rechecked his results. "There are also traces of Goldar around where she was." 

"This isn't happening," Azure whispered to herself. "This just isn't happening." 

Billy hadn't looked this upset in a while. "Let's go see what we can find there." 

Azure nodded. "Let's go!" it only took a second to arrive there, and Billy looked around as they materialized. 

"This is the last place her co ordinates registered," he said. _Where are you, Aura?_ 

Azure glanced around, wondering if she'd ever get that rest she and Adam had tried to get earlier. Exhausted, she leaned against a tree. What she felt under her hand startled her. She turned to see it more clearly, and her eyes widened in shock. _NO!_ 

Billy looked over at her. "What is it?" he and Adam joined her, the others slowly converging to see if she'd found something. Indeed she had: a stylized "Z" carved into the wood of the tree. 

Someone's signature. Someone very specific. Billy paled so much he looked like a corpse. Azure whispered the name, the name they all feared. 

"Zedd."   
  


* * *

  


Rita smiled nastily as Aura was dragged in. "Welcome, Amber Ranger! I'd like you to meet Master Vile: my father!" 

Aura ignored them both, reaching inside of herself in an attempt to contact the Spirit of Earth. Vile laughed hideously. "I'm afraid that won't work!" he knew the signs well, he'd seen it before in other Amber Rangers. "You're not on Earth!" _And the fact Blocker blocks EVERYTHING doesn't hurt either!_ 

"The Rangers will get me out of here!" Aura growled. "And you won't like it when they do!" 

Vile gloated, "The Rangers are weaklings compared to me! Galan and Zedd put together are weaker than I am!" 

"Have you ever faced the full fury of the Guardian of the Earth?" _Of course since I can't contact the Spirit, I can't become the Guardian, but they don't need to know that._ 

"What a pathetic threat!" Vile snapped. Rita nodded her agreement. Aura actually yawned. 

"I've heard worse insults coming from my children." 

Rita smiled at her. "How about this one: you are never seeing your sister again!" 

"You'd better not have harmed her!" Aura managed to conceal her flinching; she hated the thought of Azure hurt! 

Rita shook her head. "I did no such thing! Eric did it all!" 

"Eric's dead!" 

"Maybe you should have said good-bye to your sister before you left!" Rita needled her. 

Aura leveled a serious gaze at them both. "I'm going to kill you both for this." 

"In your dreams!" 

"A good many of my dreams of come true, Rita, and so will this one!" Aura retorted. Rita seized her hair, jerked her head back, and looked deep into Aura's gray eyes. 

"That is what you think. It won't, trust me!" 

Aura yawned, deliberately. "I've heard that before. So how long till I get rescued, ooops, how long till you kill me?" _Might as well tease them some!_ 

"How can they rescue you?" Rita mocked. "They can't even find you!" 

"Sooner or later, they always do!" Aura grinned. She had faith in her friends and family. She knew they would come through for her. In the meantime, she could get in some good insults. "Go ahead, do you worst to me, I can take it. I've been kissed by your skinless husband, Rita, I can take anything you can dish out!" 

Rita had never looked angrier in her life! "How dare you kiss him!" 

"I didn't say I liked it," Aura drawled. "Actually, I wanted to go wash my lips off afterwards!" _Not to mention a week-long soak to scrub off every other body part he touched!_ 

Rita screeched, "You will pay for his death!" 

"Do you take checks?" 

"You will pay with both your sanity and your life, just like your sister!" Rita promised with all the hatred in her. 

"And you will pay for anything and everything you've done to her!" 

Vile waved his hand absently. "Whatever, child!"   
  


* * *

  


"We're ready, Zordon!" Aisha, Rocky, and Kat were about to teleport to the Glitter Rose. Azure looked at them with gratitude in her eyes. 

"Thank you," she told them. Zordon gave them their final instructions. 

THE GLITTER ROSE WILL BLOOM IN PRECISELY TWO HOURS, AT THE MOMENT OF NOON ON THAT WORLD. BE CAREFUL. 

Rocky nodded. "We will," he glanced at the others. We'll see you later!" Alpha punched a few buttons, and the three of them vanished in multi-colored lights. 

Azure sighed. "Hurry back, guys," as Adam wrapped an arm around her. 

"They'll be back soon, and you'll be okay," he reassured her. Azure smiled a little. 

"Not if anything happens to Aura," she murmured. Tommy sighed a little. 

"What's worrying me is the 'Z' sign," he murmured. Adam nodded; they were all worried over that. "I don't think it's Zedd, not really." 

"Rita must want us to think it is," Azure leaned against Adam. "Just like with the knife," she yawned a little. 

Adam sighed a bit. "We'll find her, though." 

"Why is she doing this to Aura?" Azure wondered. "I mean, if she wants revenge for Zedd's death, Aura didn't have anything to do with that!" _I did, though._ 

Billy paused in his search for a moment. "Maybe not. But Zedd did want Aura to be his queen," he managed to control his nausea at that thought. 

"Jealousy?" Tommy wasn't sure quite what to think of this. Adam shrugged. 

"It must be," he noticed Azure's eyes were starting to close. She jerked them open, forcing herself to stay away. "You can go to sleep, Azure." 

She shook her head. "No." 

"You need to sleep!" he wanted her to rest, she needed it so badly. She shook her head again with her usual stubbornness. 

"I'm fine," she told him, her eyes on Billy as he kept looking. Azure knew he wanted to pace and be upset, but he also knew that wasn't going to help find Aura. "Any luck?" 

"Nothing," he sighed. "Nothing at all."   
  


* * *

  


"This place is beautiful!" Kat breathed as she looked around the flora-filled environment. Rocky nodded. 

"It's magnificent is more like it!" 

Aisha couldn't believe her eyes. "Words fail to describe this place!" As far as the eye could see there was nothing but plants, plants everywhere, under a flawless cerulean sky. Aisha glanced at the map Zordon had provided them. "I think the rose is supposed to be this way." 

As they crossed a river, Aisha glanced up. "Guys, isn't that what we're looking for?" on the far side of the river, on a small hill, grew a bush. Leaves greener than jade covered it, as did small blue berries. At the very top of the bush was a single rose of purest white, with a soft shimmer about it. 

"Woah," Rocky breathed. "It's beautiful!" there were only seconds left until it bloomed, it seemed. 

"We've got to wait until it blooms, or else, we won't be able to help Azure!" 

Rocky jumped up beside it, taking out his Power Sword. "I'll be ready." a moment later, the Glitter Rose bloomed, and Rocky sliced through the stem gently. Kat smiled. 

"Let's go home." 

They were back in the Command Center a brief second later. Azure stared almost mindlessly into the distance, presumably where Eric was standing there. Rocky proclaimed, "We're back!" 

"You got it!" Adam smiled as they appeared. Alpha quickly took the rose and started working on the cure. 

"Congratulations, guys!" Billy said as Alpha delivered the remedy to Azure. She drank it down quickly, and paused for a moment. A second later, Adam had to catch her as she passed out from exhaustion. 

"I'll take her home," he said. "She needs the sleep." 

Aisha smiled a little. "Hopefully Aura will be here when she wakes up!" 

Billy nodded as Adam and Azure teleported home. "Yeah, hopefully." _I hope with all my heart she is! Where are you?_   
  


* * *

  


"They found the Glitter Rose?" Rita screamed. "How?" 

Vile hissed in frustration. "I don't know! That fool Zordon must have had something to do with it!" 

"There must be another way to get rid of that one!" Rita insisted. _She can't be immortal or invulnerable!_ 

Aura, chained to a near-by wall, laughed. "You guys will never beat my sister or the Rangers!" 

"Who says it was your sister we are trying to get rid of?" Rita protested. Aura smiled; she knew the ways of evil. 

"Because she's the only one that's had a spell put on her," Aura reminded them. "One of yours, Disgusting, or whatever your name is!" 

Vile laughed. "But I know how to destroy her!" he glanced to Earth; to Azure and Adam arriving at their apartment. "And he is the key." 

"Look, Disgusting, you touch her or anyone else I love, and I won't rest until I've torn you into teeny, tiny shreds!" 

Vile laughed. "The name is Vile, and I don't think you can do anything chained up against a wall!" 

"Maybe not now," Aura admitted. "But soon." 

He nodded. "Soon she will be destroyed!!!" 

**The End**


	36. Blocked Amber

**Blocked Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

Two days had passed while the Amber Ranger had been Rita Repulsa and Master Vile's prisoner. They watched with great interest as an incredibly intricate machine Finster had built for them administered torment to her. "This is so much fun!" Rita observed. It had taken a while for Aura to start screaming; she had a high threshold for pain, thanks to Zedd, Rita's now deceased husband. But once she had, she hadn't stopped. 

"Oh, yes," Vile agreed. "She hasn't been saying 'the Rangers will rescue me' since we started the torture!" 

"She hasn't been saying much!" Rita laughed as yet another of Aura's screams tore the air on the SpaceSkull. Vile nodded his heads in agreement. 

"Just a lot of those!" 

Rita watched for a few more moments, enjoying the pure pain they were putting her through. _How dare Zedd want her for his queen in my place! I might not be able to do anything to him, but I can and will punish HER for what he did! What else to do to her. . .there are so many options. Ahhh!!_ "Father, I have an idea," she quickly explained to him, and Vile laughed as the beauty of it struck him. 

"Yes!" he agreed. "Let her meet a couple of 'old friends'!" he quickly put the plan into action, while Rita went over to Aura and stopped the torture. 

Rita lifted Aura's face and stared into her gray eyes. "There is someone here to see you," the evil sorceress intoned. "Actually, two someones!" 

"Ge. . .get your hands off me," Aura gasped. "I just want to go home. . .," _I never thought anything could get worse than that month I spent in Zedd's dungeon. Until now._ 

Rita turned Aura's head to face the doorway. "What? And be rude to our guests?" 

The Amber Ranger went chalk white as she saw who stood there. "No! Can't be. . .they're dead!" 

Two familiar hideous laughters sounded. "But we're not!" Zedd told her. "Your sister didn't do as good a job as she thought she had!" 

Aura's eyes switched to who stood next to Zedd. "I killed you myself, you can't be here!" 

The Amber Ranger stared at the Amber Ranger Hunter. "Can't I?" Galan chuckled. "Are you sure you killed me, and not a duplicate?" 

"No, I'm having a nightmare, it has to be," Aura whispered over and over again, not wanting to believe her two worst enemies stood side by side there. Galan came over to her, putting an arm around her shoulders. 

"I assure you," he almost purred. "It's only going to get worse from here on out!" 

"For you and your sister!" Zedd promised. Aura took a deep breath, then screamed at the top of her lungs, "Get way from me! And don't you dare touch Azure!" 

Zedd laughed. "You say that so often. I wonder what you can do to stop us from doing anything to her!" 

"Whatever I have to do," Aura promised. "Whatever I have to do." 

Galan smiled evilly, and Aura felt chills remembering how he had been before. "Oh, I don't think we have to touch her to hurt her!" 

"Leave her alone," Aura threatened. "Or I swear to you, whether you're dead or alive, I will kill you again! A thousand times if I have to!" 

All the assembled villains laughed. "I think she's been taking lessons from the Heroes' Handbook!" Vile mocked her. Rita nodded and tugged lightly at her father's arm. 

"Come, let us leave her to her fate. We must make plans for her precious Azure," Rita said slyly. Vile laughed evilly as he and Rita left Galan and Zedd to deal out the rest of the punishment Aura so richly deserved.   
  


* * *

  


Adam stood in the bedroom doorway, looking at his sleeping wife. Zack was just behind him. "She should wake up soon." 

"I hope so," Adam sighed. "It's been two days," as Katia started to cry, he headed for the nursery to comfort her. 

_Azure asleep, Aura missing. Sheesh, these two girls go through a lot even for Rangers, and the families of Rangers!_ Zack thought to himself as he followed his friend. Adam held his daughter gently, soothing her cries as best he could. 

"Shhh. ..Mommy will be up any time now. . .shhh," he told her. Zack smiled a little as Azure slipped up behind Adam, and kissed him gently on the neck. 

"What time is it," she asked, a touch of grogginess in her voice. Adam glanced at his watch automatically. 

"It's four, Azure," he then did something Zack had never seen in actuality: a doubletake. "Azure?" 

"What?" she smiled. "You expected the Goblin King?" 

"I. . .uh. ..no. .. I. .," when words failed Adam, he turned instead to one of his rare expressions of emotion: he grabbed his wife, hugged, and kissed her with all his heart. Azure smiled as she returned the hug, kissing both her husband and daughter. 

"Next question, how long have I been asleep?" 

"Two days," Adam told her. Azure raised an eyebrow, then continued. 

"I take it the Glitter Rose thingie worked, cause I can't see or hear Eric," she observed, and they could both see how grateful she was for that. "Where is Aura?" 

Adam hmmmed for a moment, not really wanting to tell Azure the truth just yet. When she pinned him with one of her killer stares, though, he admitted, "We haven't been able to find her." 

"What?" Azure almost growled the word out. 

"We've been looking all over the planet, even the moon, but nothing!" Adam told her. Azure's eyes flicked out the window, as if she hoped for her sister to appear at that moment. 

"Where could they have her then? Venus?" 

Adam shrugged. "I don't know, but Billy's going out of his mind." 

"Let me guess, Rocky is looking after their kids?" Azure surmised. Adam nodded. 

"I think they're going to wind up thinking he's their mom!" Adam almost complained as Azure headed towards their room, saying she'd be back in a moment. 

"I wonder what's up with her?" Zack asked, looking at his friend. Adam's face was stern. 

"Whatever it is, I don't think I like her going out after being asleep for two days!" he said firmly. 

"You might want to keep an eye on her, man, carefully of course!" Zack suggested. 

"Are you talking about me again?" Azure asked as she came back in wearing a pair of leggings, and one of Adam's old black tee-shirts. Adam caught his breath at just how fantastic she looked in that, and told her so. "You're avoiding my question." 

"Well," he hedged a little. Azure sighed. 

"I thought you were!" 

Zack came to Adam's rescue as best he could. "He's just worried about you, Azure, after all, you've been asleep for two days!" 

"I was tired, really tired!" she retorted. "I was just going to the Command Center, and then for a quick walk in the park! I was going to ask if you two wanted to come, but now I'm not so sure!" 

Adam bit his lip. "Azure, I worry because I love you!" 

Azure looked at him long and carefully. "There are times when you worry too much," she told him as she kissed him, then picked up Katia. "Hello, little angel," she cooed. _Oh, I love them both!_ 

"I guess," Adam sighed. Azure smiled at him, he was learning! 

"I love you, Adam. Let's go for that walk." 

Adam nodded as he reached for a jacket . "Yeah, it's been too long since we just walked!" 

"Let's hope we can do just that, and not have to face any monsters!" Azure declared. She glanced over at Zack. "Coming?" 

"Nah, you two need some time together," he grinned. "Besides, I've got somewhere else to be right now!" 

"You are nothing but a romantic, Zack!" Azure grinned at her old friend. It was still sort of amazing to her that he had spent a year and a half as the Black Ranger, the position now held by Adam. The things that had happened while she and Aura were in New York, she mused for a moment. She smiled briefly to herself. Who would have imagined her life would turn out like this?   
  


* * *

  


"It's good to be with you again," Adam said as they walked through the park. Azure nodded as she pushed Katia's stroller. 

"Same here," she smiled at him. "I missed this." 

Adam kissed her lightly. "It's just not the same without you." 

Azure blushed. "When was the last time we went for a walk together, just the two of us? Or should I say, three of us?" 

"I honestly can't remember!" Adam almost laughed. Azure smiled. 

"Maybe before Galan showed up?" _I can't believe it's been almost a year since then! Well, over a year, actually!_ 

"I think so!" 

Before they could take another step, a monster appeared in front of them, a hideous thing that they both recognized as the one Aura had described before. "One Ranger down, so many to go!" 

"Oh, great, can't we ever have a peaceful walk?" Adam groaned. "Azure, get Katia and get out of here!" a moment later, both his wife and child were gone, teleported to the Command Center. Adam glared at the creature. "What have you done with Aura, you slime?" 

"I see you don't want her getting hut!" Blocker mocked. "No matter, it's you I'm after! I got her sister, and now I get you!" 

"We'll find her," Adam snarled. "We'll find Aura, and we'll just see who gets who!" 

The monster lurched towards him, laughing. "I'd morph if I were you, quickly!" it taunted him as a beam shot out of it's eyes. Adam flipped away, morphing as he did so. He knew it was no use to call for help, this thing blocked communications just by existing. 

"You've got a big mouth, you know that, don't you?" he retorted as he started to fight the creature. Another beam lashed out, and this one hit him hard, knocking Adam to the ground. 

"But I know how to shut yours, permanently!" the monster gloated with glee as Adam rolled to avoid yet another beam. 

Adam swore visciously as he managed to get back up to his feet. "Yeah, right! Do you know how many times I've heard villains and monsters say that?" 

"This will be the last time!" Blocker blasted Adam again, only to have the Black Ranger move away yet again. 

"That's what they all say," Adam chuckled. He hoped he could stay away from this thing until the others arrived; Azure was probably already calling them in. 

"We shall see!" the creature hissed. Another beam blasted, but this time Adam didn't make it away in time. He fell to the ground, darkness overwhelming him in moments. 

Blocker laughed in evil glee and marched towards the fallen Ranger just as the others teleported in. "Leave him alone!" Tommy snapped. The monster blasted Adam one more time. 

"I came and did what I was told!" he declared. "Now, I leave!" without another word, he vanished into thin air. Rocky ran straight to his friend and knelt by him. 

"This doesn't look good!" he groaned. He had some medical training, it was required of lifeguards, and he was already worried over his friend. 

"How bad?" Billy asked, joining him. Rocky touched Adam's morpher, forcing the Black Ranger to demorph, and examined him quickly. 

"I think he's in a coma," the Red Ranger whispered. Tommy bit off a few choice oaths, then started to lift Adam up. 

"Let's get him to the Command Center," was all he said out loud. Inwardly, he cringed. _Oh, man, Azure is not going to like this!_   
  


* * *

  


"This plan is going perfectly!" Vile laughed as Blocker teleported in. 

"Masters!" the creature declared. "I have one what I was told, the Black Ranger is dying. . .slowly!" 

Vile smiled hideously. "Congratulations!" he told the monster. Aura, chained to a wall near them, screamed in outrage. 

"No! Adam!" 

Rita gazed at her with hate in her eyes. "What? I thought you loved the Blue Ranger?" 

"Adam is my friend and brother-in-law," Aura spat at Rita. "Like you'd know anything about real love anyway!" 

"I loved my husband!" Rita declared. "Until your sister took that away from me! It is time for her to feel the pain that I am going through!" 

Aura growled, "If he'd stayed away from me she wouldn't have killed him!" 

"She should never have been born!" Rita clenched her fists in fury. "And soon, she will wish that she hadn't!" 

"I've been wishing you'd never been born for years no!" Aura retorted. Vile roared for both of them to be silent. 

"Enough! Soon the Black Ranger will be dead, there is no way for Zordon to reverse what Blocker did to him!" 

Aura closed her eyes and spoke quietly, almost to herself. "You'll both pay for this." 

Zedd laughed from near her, he and Galan had been having a wonderful time tormenting Aura. She glared at them all. "No matter what it takes, you'll pay." 

"Yeah, you keep saying that!" Rita groaned. Vile nodded. 

"and I'm getting tired of hearing her speak at all! What do you say, Rita, something to shut her up? Except for her screams, of course!" 

Rita nodded and gestured to the monster. "Blocker, do your stuff!" the monster came closer to Aura, bathing her in a green light. She tried to scream a denial, only to find she could no longer speak!! 

_What can't this thing do? It can split itself into multiple parts, block transmissions just by existing, those rays of it hurt Adam, and now it blocked my voice! Sweet stars, this is getting ridiculous!_ Aura thought briefly. Having no other choice, she gave them all nasty looks. 

"At least she's quiet about her 'insults' now! If you can call those pathetic attempts insults!" Vile laughed. 

Rita shook her head. "I can't, and don't!"   
  


* * *

  


Adam sat up, holding his head. Where was he? What had happened? Last thing he remembered was going up against the Blocker monster. . ."Oh, man, my head is killing me," he muttered. "Azure?" 

"Adam?" the voice wasn't Azure's, but he recognized it anyway. Or he almost did. It was soft, kind, and gentle, far different from the last time he had heard it. 

"What are you doing here?" he asked Galan. The Amber Ranger Hunter smiled warmly. 

"I was about to ask you the same thing." 

Adam got to his feet and glanced around. They were in a strange, grayish realm, that didn't seem to be anywhere. "Where am I? What's going on?" it struck him as rather odd to be asking advice of Galan, but he seemed to know more than Adam did at the moment. 

"You're dead, or rather close to it," Galan said matter of factly. Adam couldn't believe his ears! 

"What? No, this can't be!" he protested. _I can't be dead! I'm not dead! No way, this isn't happening! Not at all!_ 

Galan smiled. "Relax, you're not supposed to be dead yet!" Adam stared at his old enemy. 

"Why are you being so nice to me?" he wanted to know. This wasn't like Galan at all! 

"I learned a lot after I died," Galan told him. "I realize now how wrong I was before. I could've spent my life helping people with the powers I cultivated, instead of trying to wipe out a line that cannot die." 

Adam sighed, and sat down. "I don't understand any of this. How exactly did I 'die' or come this close to dying?" 

"I'm not sure," Galan admitted, sitting next to him. "I think a monster of Rita's, perhaps." 

Adam thought for a few minutes. "That thing that attacked. . .he said he came for me, he must have wanted me dead to hurt Azure even more." 

"I believe you are right," Galan nodded. Adam took a quick moment to look at him. He seemed very real, very solid, but then again, so did Adam himself. Whatever was going on here, he needed to get back to Azure. 

He took a deep breath. "How do I stop myself from dying?" 

"I can guide you back to your body," Galan told him. "The Rangers are doing all they can to fix it now." 

Adam stood up. "Let's go," he murmured softly a moment later, "Azure, I'm coming back to you, my love?" 

As they headed out, Galan asked, "So. ..how is Aura?" Adam wasn't really surprised by the question, it was the tone the question had been asked in that surprised him so. There was nothing evil or lustful about it, pure curiosity and concern filled Galan's voice. Adam regretted having to give out bad news. 

"Rita's got her." 

Galan stopped. "What?" he growled. Adam almost smiled, Galan didn't change in some respects, it seemed. 

"Rita and Vile have her," he continued. "I don't know how, probably when we were looking for Azure," he sighed a little. "I'm worried bout her." 

"I will look for her once I have guided you back safely," Galan promised. Adam found himself smiling. 

"Thanks. For everything." 

"It is the least I can do," Galan told him. They hadn't gone much farther, however, when they were most rudely interrupted. 

"Hello, Ranger!" the ghost of Eric Matthews reared up in front of them, blocking the way. Galan growled deep in his nonexistent throat. 

"Be gone from here, Eric! You will not interfere in this!" 

Adam stared wide-eyed. "Eric? What are you doing here?" _stupid question, he's dead, Galan's dead, this is the Realm of the Dead. I just hope no one else shows up!_ 

"Interfering," Galan said flatly. Eric still stood in front of them, glaring. 

"I died, no thanks to that little pest of a wife of yours. She should have died back then! Maybe you would still be alive!" Eric's hideous laughter, a sound Adam had been glad to hear end, sounded once more. 

"He is alive," Galan told him. "I am taking him back to his body." 

Eric shook his head. " That is what you think! I will stop you, or should I say, we will stop you!" 

"We?" Adam wondered. "Who else is here?" 

"You will find out in time," Eric laughed as he faded away. "That you will!" 

Galan took a deep breath. "If it is who I fear it is, this will not be easy." 

Adam shivered. "I think I know who it is, and that's what's worrying me." _Eric never could do anything on his own._ 

"Let's go," Galan started again. "We might have a chance if we hurry." 

Adam nodded as he joined his guide. "What are we waiting for?"   
  


* * *

  


Azure knelt beside Adam in the Command Center, holding his hand and crying with all her heart. "Adam, come back to me, please," she begged. Alpha was deeply involved in the scans as Azure stared at the comatose Black Ranger with Katia in her arms. "You'd better come back to me." 

Alpha put a hand on her shoulder. "I think he'll be all right, but it's too early to tell." 

"What the heck, happened?" Billy wanted to know. "How did that thing get to Adam and we not even know about it until Azure told us?" 

I BELIEVE THIS COULD BE THE SAME MOSNTER AURA SPOKE OF BEFORE, THAT COULD BLOCK COMMUNICATIONS MERELY BY EXISTING. 

"What did it do to him?" Azure moaned from her post beside Adam. Alpha told her quietly of the extent of the injuries, and she groaned. 

"Adam, wake up, please!" she begged. "I swear, if you don't wake up soon, I'm moving in with my parents again!" 

Adam lay there, unresponsive, as his soul searched for the way home.   
  


* * *

  


Rita entered the torture chamber, and smiled as she observed Galan enjoying himself with the administering of pain to Aura. She laughed. "Maybe I should come back later?" 

Aura stuck her tongue out, and Rita glanced briefly down at the glass she held in one hand. A slow cruel smile curved her lips. "You seem to be enjoying yourself," Aura shook her hand and spat at Rita, who came a touch closer. "You simply must stop doing that. Galan,I think you should leave her alone for now, I'm sure she must be thirsty!" 

Galan pouted. "I was just starting to have real fun!" 

"You can have all the fun you want to later," Rita laughed. "Which I'm sure you will." 

Galan backed away from Aura. "That I will!" 

Rita came closer to Aura. "Are you thirsty?" she almost sounded nice! "You've been here almost two whole days and hardly had anything to drink!" 

Aura looked away from her, she'd learned long ago what it was to accept things from the enemy. "I can make you drink this!" Rita snarled. "And I wouldn't want me to try, not if I were you!" when Aura simply ignored her, Rita hissed, "So be it!" she seized Aura's long black hair, jerked it back, and forced the drink down Aura's throat. Rita laughed as Aura stared at her, then spat. "I wish I could sew your mouth up!" Rita growled. A moment later, she stepped back as Aura screamed, the only sound she was capable of making right now, far louder than Rita herself could ever hope to scream. 

"Galan!" Rita snapped as she covered her ears. "Have fun!" 

Aura's scream changed in tone as Galan approached her. Instead of anger, now pure fear filled it. She mouthed a silent 'no' as Galan kissed her. "You're going to enjoy this!" he told her. Aura shook her head violently as he began the ultimate torment to the Amber Ranger. 

_Billy!_ she screamed the words in her mind. _Help me!_   
  


* * *

  


"I wish I could see Azure right now," Adam sighed as he and Galan traveled. "She must be so worried." 

Galan reassured him, "You will be with her soon. We aren't too far from where you go back to your body now." 

"Let's just hope we get there before Eric and the other one come for us!" Galan barely had time to nod agreement before Eric and his companion both appeared in front of them. 

"Hello, Ranger!" Eric oozed. "I said I'd be back!" 

Lord Zedd laughed. "As am I!" he looked just as hideous as he always had in life. 

Galan growled, "Zedd! I knew it had to be you!" Adam hissed an obscenity, to which Zedd laughed. 

"Such foul language to greet an old enemy with, Black Ranger!" 

Adam rolled his eyes. "What? You expected a hello and how do you do? You are dumber than I thought you were!" _And I didn't think that was possible!_ 

"Remove yourself from here!" Galan commanded the two deceased villains. "You're not wanted or needed here!" 

Zedd looked with distaste on the Amber Ranger Hunter. "Galan, you have changed. You used to be a decent villain!" 

Eric shivered. "Now you're a goody-two-shoes! Just like those stupid Amber Rangers you used to hunt and kill!" 

"Death gave me time to reflect and realize how wrong I was," Galan stood up to their taunts. "Pity it didn't do the same to you!" 

Eric shrugged. "How was I wrong? She deserved everything that I did to her!" 

"No one deserved what you did to Azure!" Galan roared. Adam almost launched at Eric, but managed to hold himself back, despite the dead guy's mocking laughter. 

"OH, but she did deserve it!" 

Zedd was more to the business at hand. "You will never return to life, Black Ranger!" 

Adam laughed. Some villains never changed. "Wanna bet? I will return, and I will live knowing my wife destroyed the two of you, and she doesn't have to fear you anymore!" he gazed directly at Eric. 

"You're going to have to get by us to live, and that's not possible!" Zedd told him, blocking the pathway. Adam could see a brilliant golden light ahead of them, beyond Zedd and Eric, and something told him that was the way home. Something about it gave him hope. 

"Wanna bet?" he said softly, firmly. "I will live." 

"Let's go, Adam!" Galan sharply spoke up, beginning to lead him past them. Eric swiftly jumped in front of them. 

"You will never return!" 

"Never!" Zedd promised. Galan glared at them both, it was plain he was not in a good mood. 

"Let us pass!" he growled. "We will pass by!" 

"That you will!" a new voice sounded. Adam and Galan looked up to see a tall, burly man striding toward them, a familiar Axe in his hands. Adam knew only one person, other than Aura, would have that! 

"Neras?" he breathed. "Aura's father?" 

The thirty-fifth Amber Ranger of Kalakan nodded. "Yes. And you have made her sister very happy, thus I came to help, for by doing so, you made my daughter happy." 

"How dare you be here, Neras?" Zedd roared, furious to see the Amber Ranger he had slain standing against him yet again. 

"He does because he can!" Adam laughed, knowing now they would succeed! "Let's get past these two bozos, shall we?" 

Neras, Galan, and Adam surged towards. "Yes, we shall!" Neras bellowed a battle cry and took the lead, with Eric and Zedd falling back from his attack. As they passed them, the two spirits faded away, defeated in death as they had been in life. 

"Thank you, Neras," Adam told the father of his friend. 

"My pleasure, Adam," Neras replied. Adam suddenly winced, pain filling his entire form as he dropped to his knees. "Come, Galan," Neras glanced at the Amber Ranger Hunter. "We have little time left." 

Galan bent down and swiftly picked up the pain-wracked Ranger. "Let's go." 

"Azure," Adam whispered, "Wait for me. . ." 

They headed for the light.   
  


* * *

  


Alpha ran another test on Adam, and the results weren't good. "He's getting worse," he reported. "He doesn't have much time left." 

"Adam!" Azure cried, laying her head on his stomach and crying with all her heart. She didn't notice two shadowy figures forming near them, but Billy most certainly did. 

"What. . . the. .. Galan!" he hissed the name. 

The spirit raised a hand. "Be at peace, Billy, I mean no harm." the shade next to him nodded, and Billy's jaw dropped when he saw who it was 

"You can trust him, Billy," Neras told him. Everyone looked suddenly at Adam as he began to move, opening his eyes. 

"Adam?" Azure whispered, her heart pounding with joy. His eyes cleared as he looked at her. 

"Azure," he whispered softly. He wrapped his teary-eyes wife in his arms, glad to be home at last. "Oh, Azure!" he looked over to Galan and Neras. "Thank you both." 

"Galan?" Azure stared at the ghost. "You're thanking him? Am I missing something?" 

Galan floated to Azure. "Azure, I beg your forgiveness for all that I did to you. I am sorry." 

"All is forgiven," Azure told him. "I have trouble holding some grudges when others rear their ugly faces." 

Neras was looking at Billy. "So you are my daughter's love?" 

"That I am," Billy smiled at the ghost of his father-in-law. 

"You have made her happier than you can ever know," Neras informed him. "I thank you." 

The Blue Ranger nodded. "Now, if we can just get her back. . ." 

"That is what Galan has gone to do," Neras told them. It was only then that they noticed he had faded away. "He will find her wherever she is, and bring back word. He is truly the Amber Ranger Hunter. Only now he will use his skills one last time to find her." 

Adam was shakily getting to his feet. "Instead of kill her, he's going to save her. Like he did me."   
  


* * *

  


Rita laughed as Galan and Zedd committed torment after torment to Aura. "Oh, this is too perfect, she's going to go catatonic again!" Goldar had told them what Zedd had done to her originally, and how. 

Vile nodded. "I can arrange it so she never comes out of it this time!" 

"Oh, you will?" Galan's voice sounded suddenly. "We shall see about that!" 

Vile and Rita looked around, surprised! Their Galan was far too busy to be speaking, but they had heard his voice all the same. "Who said that?" 

"I did!" A second Galan was appearing before them. Vile's eyes were wide in shock, as were Rita's. "If I were you, I'd return this young woman's voice and release her, or else, I will haunt you forever!" 

Rita did not believe her eyes. "Galan! It can't be, you're dead!" 

"True," Galan's ghost nodded. "And she killed me. With just cause! I deserved what happened to me, but she does not deserve this!" 

"Do you know what she did with Zedd? With my husband?" Rita growled. Vile nodded. 

"She deserves death! We're being nice to her by doing this!" 

Galan's ghost shook his head. "Don't you mean what he did to her? I think you got your information wrong! He did everything to her. .he beat her, he drugged her food so she would fall for him, he trapped her in an endless loop of pain!" 

Vile glared. "Like you did anything better! You tricked her sister into feeding her a love potion, you kidnapped her husband and sister to force her to come to you! And nearly killed her sister!" 

"Azure has forgiven me," Galan told them. " And for that I am grateful. Now, get them away from her, give her back her voice, and release her!" 

Rita laughed. "And if we don't, what are you going to do, ghost?" 

"Something that you don't think I'm capable of doing!" the shade promised them. Vile mocked him evilly, pretending to fright. A moment later, the false Galan and Zedd vanished, returning briefly to their true forms of Tengas before doing so. "now what do you have to say?" 

"That. . .that's not possible!" Vile bellowed. Galan laughed. 

"Isn't it? How do you explain what just happened?" not daring much more, Rita waved her wand, releasing Aura from the chains and releasing Blocker's spell so that she could once more speak. 

"No. ..stop. . .please," Aura murmured, nearly out of her mind with pain. Galan wished for a moment he could be solid, to touch and reassure her. 

"They have," was all he could say. "They are sending you back now," he glanced to Rita and Vile. "Aren't you?" 

"Yes," Vile nodded. "For now," he muttered. 

"I am going with her, and I will be keeping an eye on you two!" Galan promised them. "Send her, now!" with another wave of Rita's wand, Aura vanished. 

"Happy now?" 

Galan nodded as he vanished. "I will be keeping an eye on you two!" was all they heard before he was gone.   
  


* * *

  


Aura appeared in her usual blaze of amber light, and looked around. She'd recovered quickly once the torment had stopped, and smiled to see Azure there. "Azure!" 

"You're back!" Azure smiled. She looked over to Galan's ghost, forming near her sister. "Thank you." 

Aura looked around. "Billy? Where's Billy?" her eyes widened as they landed on her husband. "No. . ." 

"Aura?" Azure asked, seeing the fear fill her eyes. "What's wrong?" 

"Snakes," Aura whispered as she looked around the Command Center. "Snakes. .not snakes. .. " her eyes rolled up into her head and she collapsed to the floor. 

"Snakes?" 

**The End**


	37. Reptile Amber

**Reptile Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

The Power Rangers watched tensely as Azure passed smelling salts Alpha had hurriedly given her under her unconscious sister's nose. Aura had arrived at the Command Center only moments before, and as she'd looked at the Rangers, she'd suddenly screamed and fainted. "Aura? Come on," Azure whispered, trying to revive the Amber Ranger. _What made her react like that? That's not normal for her. What did they do to her there?_ 

Aura's eyes flickered for a moment, then opened completely. "Azure. . .are the snakes gone?" she murmured. Azure raised an eyebrow, she should've known only snakes terrified Aura to the point of collapse. 

"There never were any snakes here," Azure told her. Aura glanced around, and her eyes went wide with fear. 

"There they are!" she shrank back, heart pounding. Azure looked to see where she was looking, and saw the Rangers standing there, every last one of them looking confused. Billy looked worried as well, and Azure didn't blame him. Aura had, after all, been gone for two days, and now she was screaming in fear every time she saw him! 

"Aura, those are the Rangers," Azure tried to relax her sister. Aura didn't want to be relaxed, however, as she curled away from her. 

"Those are snakes!" she declared. "I'm seeing snakes!" 

Azure sighed; snakes were the one thing Aura absolutely refused to be rational about. She didn't blame her older sister, either. "Aura, calm down," Azure tried again. She glanced to Alpha. "Can you teleport us home for a bit? I need to calm her down." 

A moment later, they were both in Aura and Billy's living room. Azure asked quietly, noticing Aura's still fear-rounded eyes. "Do you see any now?" 

Aura looked around, then took a deep breath. "Nope," she sighed in relief. She hated snakes with a passion that was almost holy. 

"Aura," Azure knew she had to talk out what had happened, or it would eat away at her. "Do you want to talk to me?" 

Aura sat on the couch, shaking. "Oh, man," she whispered, remembering what she'd been through again. Azure came to sit beside her. 

"Don't you wish at times you could retire from all this?" 

Aura nodded. "But I can't. I took an oath, and I won't go back on it. I wouldn't even if I could," she reminded her sister. Azure shook her head. 

"You know what I mean," she said. "Not having to look over your shoulder, not having to be tortured, not having to worry about your kids. . ." 

"Especially the not being tortured and not worrying about the kids," Aura sighed. Azure took a deep breath; she knew what she had to do. 

"Want to talk about what happened while you were with Vile and Rita?" Azure asked softly. Aura shivered visibly, that was almost as bad as having to see snakes! Her trembling nearly doubled. 

"I. . .I. . .they. . .Galan. . .Zedd. .. again. . .I saw them. . .," she whispered. She'd almost had a grip on things, then Azure had asked, and the memories had flooded back to her. . . 

"That wasn't Galan," Azure knew Aura wasn't going to be easy to talk to for a few. She'd been too out of it when she'd first returned to the Command Center to notice Galan's ghost had been there. 

"I saw him," Aura whispered. Azure sighed, Aura wasn't just mentally wounded, she was as stubborn as could be! 

"Aura, that was a fake Galan. Galan helped Adam," she could only hope Aura would believe her. Aura focused on something. 

"I knew they'd done something to him," she murmured. "But what. ..and why did Galan help him?" 

Azure quickly explained what Adam had told her before Aura had been sent back, and Aura's eyes widened in amazement. Azure had one last bit of news, as well. "Neras was here." 

Aura smiled. "Father. I wish I could've seen him again." 

Azure took her sister's hand. "Aura, if it wasn't for Galan, Vile and Rita would never have sent you back to us." _And I never thought I'd be grateful to him for anything. But I am now._ 

"Galan," Aura looked up a little, an instinctive reaction by those who might speak to ghosts. "Wherever you are. . .thank you." 

_Aura._ Aura looked around, eyes wild, as her old foe shimmered into being in front of her. "G. . .Galan?" she whispered. 

He smiled a little. _You don't have to fear me anymore. I wanted to apologize to you, for everything I did to you and your family. If you ever find it in your heart to forgive me, let me know._ 

Aura stared for a moment, then realized something. "You repaid it all when you brought Adam back. Thank you. He is my brother and my friend. I do forgive you." _And I do._ 

_Then I can almost rest in peace. I am going to pay one last visit to Scorpina before I do. Thank you for giving her a good life now. I have been watching her, and she is happy now, far happier than she has ever been in thousands of years._ 

Aura sighed, one weight lifting from her. "That was the only thing I was never sure of. If I'd done the right thing with her. It was all I could think of, though. She didn't deserve death at the time." 

_She is getting married, to a respectable and good man who loves her very much, and whom she loves. Be proud._ 

Aura sighed and smiled. "I'm glad." Galan began to fade, and his soft spectral voice floated one last time through the room. _Beware of cursed water._ 

"Cursed water?" Azure asked as he faded away entirely. Aura's eyes went wide, and once more she shook, but this time with raw anger instead of fear. "What is it?" 

"I'm going to strangle her if I get my hands on her!" Aura growled. Azure stared at her, worried, and wondering. 

"Aura?" 

"Rita!" Aura snapped. Azure asked what she meant, and Aura, in quick, bitten off words, told her of Rita forcing the water down her throat that must have been what was causing her to see the Rangers as snakes. 

"That's what he meant by cursed water," Azure decided. "We need to get you to the Command Center, but get the Rangers out first. There is no way you're going near any of them until you are cured of this!" 

Aura's eyes shimmered with tears. "I can't even look at my own husband without seeing snakes!" she shivered as she named her fear. It was only with great effort she didn't collapse shaking right then, at the thought of Billy being or even looking like a reptile! 

"You will," Azure assured her. "Let's get you to Alpha!" a few minute s later, she and her sister were inside the Command Center, as the Rangers teleported out. Azure quickly told the little robot what was going on, and he started to run the data through the computer. 

"I think we can fix it, ay-yi-yi," he said, "but it'll take time!" 

As they waited, Azure looked over at her sister. Aura's head was lowered, and there was an air of fear about her. Azure asked softly, "Want to tell me something?" Aura shook her head. "Aura?" the young woman whispered something under her breath. Azure sighed a little; Aura clammed up sometimes so tight no one could get in. 

"Know how to fix this yet?" Aura asked. Alpha looked over at her. 

"I am getting close to an answer," was all he said as he went back to work. This would be so much simpler for him to deal with if Billy were there, but they all knew that was impossible. Aura turned away from them all. 

"Let me know when you do." 

Azure took a long look at her sister. She had always been the one person Aura never shut out, and she didn't like it now that it was happening. "Aura, talk to me, please." 

Only Zordon had a clear view of Aura at that moment, and it was all he could do not to say anything. He knew Aura wouldn't react anywhere near rationally for some time to come. The tears on her cheeks only emphasized that. Azure turned away herself, just barely able to stop herself from crying as well. 

"I can't get away from them, Azure," Aura finally spoke. "Even after they're dead." 

"I know how you feel," Azure sighed. "Trust me. He still haunts my dreams, even after the Glitter Rose." 

Aura didn't have to ask who 'he' was. There was only one 'he' for Azure. "But those were only dreams. I saw them. I felt them! They. . .they. . .," she dissolved back into tears at the memory. 

"Were fakes!" Azure almost screamed, then regretted it as Aura flinched away from her. _Blast it, she was going through hell the past two days, and now this. I shouldn't have done that! But she's being so stubborn!_ 

Aura took a deep breath, and came over to Azure as she stood on the other side of the Command Center. "I'm sorry. I know they were fakes, my head and heart know they were fakes. But my memories, they still see them for what they looked like, and what they did. . .still hurts me." 

"I know," Azure whispered. Aura sighed a little. 

"I'm sorry, Azure," she said. "Sorrier than you can know. Most of what has happened to you would never have happened if you weren't my sister." 

Azure turned to her. "Except what happened with Eric. It would have happened even if you weren't my sister. Except, I never would have made it through the first time without you." 

Aura smiled a touch. "And I would never have survived anything of what I went through since we moved back to Angel Grove without you. I owe you so much, Azure, and all I can say is thank you. And I love you, little sister." 

Azure laid her hands on Aura's shoulders; she still didn't like to be too near people these days. But it was a little better since it was Aura. She knew in her heart that her sister would never hurt her. "Some days, I honestly wish I'd never discovered who and what I am." 

"Ay-yi-yi, I found it!" Alpha cheered suddenly. Aura looked over at him, stepping away from Azure. 

"What is it?" Both sisters had the sudden feeling if it were possible, Alpha would have paled. 

"You may not like it," he warned Aura. Her jaw tightened. 

"Look, anything's better than seeing snakes every time I look at my friends and husband!" she declared. Alpha continued. 

"You must travel to get the antidote, an antivenin that can only be found in one place," Alpha told her. "You must get it from the Great Wyrm." 

Aura shrugged. "Okay, okay. . .wait. . .wyrm. ..as in snake. .as in huge snake?" 

"I told you that you wouldn't like it." 

Azure came to stand beside her. "I want to go with you." 

Aura shook her head firmly. "No, Azure." _I don't want her to get hurt._ 

"Give me one good reason not to!" Azure snapped. "I know your fear of snakes, why you are afraid of them, and how you react to them! No one else does! You are going to need some mortal support, if not a little strength, with you!" 

Aura smiled a bit. "All right," she didn't feel like arguing, but she also wasn't going to let Azure risk this. 

"After we leave," Azure told Alpha, "contact the Ranges and tell them what's going on." Alpha nodded, and Azure turned to her sister. 

"Ready to go?" when Aura nodded, Azure turned back to Alpha. She never saw Aura come up behind her, silent as a shadow, but she defiantly felt the blow that knocked her out. 

"I'm sorry, Azure," Aura said, catching her sister so she didn't hurt herself. "And you're going to give me hell over this when I get back, but I have to do this alone. I'll never get over my fear if I don't," she glanced to Alpha. "Send me to wherever this thing is, Alpha, and tell her I'm sorry." 

Alpha did as she said; he'd never thought to see Aura do that, and he did not want to tell Azure anything! He contacted the Rangers quickly. 

"Any luck curing Aura as yet, Alpha?" Tommy asked through the communicator. 

"Ay-yi-yi, Rangers, report to the Command Center," he told them. Moments later, the Rangers stood before him, and Adam's first reaction was to go to Azure's side as Alpha told them what was going on. Adam kissed Azure lightly on the lips, and as her eyes flickered open, she growled, "Where is she?" 

Adam stepped back; he'd seen that look in Azure's eyes before, but never had it been directed at Aura, of all people! "She . .uh. ..left." 

Azure glared at him, then rubbed a sore spot on her head. "She did this to me, didn't she?" as Alpha told her what Aura had done, and said, she glared one by one at them all. "We are having a little talk when she gets back!" 

Kat frowned. "I don't get it. We know she's afraid of snakes, but she's never said why. And now she's going alone to face the biggest one in creation?" 

Azure glanced away from them for a few moments. She and her parents were the only ones who knew what had happened to Aura that made her hate snakes as much as she did. Billy's soft voice pulled her back to the others. "Azure, please. Even I don't know why she's afraid of them. And Aura's my wife. I love her. I want to know. Maybe we can help her somehow." 

Azure shook her head. "I can't. I maybe ticked off at her, but I promised!" 

Adam looked at her with large puppy dog eyes, the eyes that had never failed to get just about anything out of anyone. "Azure, please." 

"Man, you aren't going to make this easy on me, are you?" at the dual shaking Billy and Adam's heads, she sighed. "I hope she can forgive me. Aura was bitten by a poisonous snake when we lived in New York, she almost died of it," _the doctors couldn't figure out why she reacted as violently as she did to it. I guess now it's because she's a Kalakan. They have different immunities than we do. Man, Billy looks shocked._ "We were camping, and it came out of nowhere, bit her, and slithered off. She was in the hospital for two months because of that." 

Adam shivered. "That must have been horrible!" _No wonder she freaks out so much at the sight of a snake!_ 

"Now you see why I promised her that I would never tell anyone?" Azure sighed a little. She'd never thought she'd break that promise, but the Rangers did deserve to know. Aura would understand. . if she survived the throttling Azure intended on giving her when she got back. 

Billy nodded. "I wish she'd told me, though." 

"She doesn't like telling people what's going on," Azure shrugged. "Probably my bad habit rubbing off on her. Heck, I'm still the same way myself!" she noticed Adam looking at her almost worriedly. _Probably wondering what else I haven't told him._ 

"I hope she's okay," Billy sighed. He wanted to find her on the viewing globe, but knew if he did, he'd teleport straight there to be with her. That wasn't what she needed right now. Azure reassured him that she would be, as she looked away from Adam. It was a very quiet and hopeful batch of Rangers that awaited the return of one of their own.   
  


* * *

  


"She is going after the antivenin?" Rita shrieked as she and her father stared down on Earth. 

"No!" Vile hissed. "If she reaches the Great Wyrm. . .this must be stopped!" 

Rito shuffled over, peering down. "How, Pops?" he wanted to know. 

"Reptilor!" Vile declared. "The embodiment of all her snakely fears! It will stop her in her tracks!" _and should we be lucky enough that it bites her. . .the venom will ensure that the Amber Ranger is gone forever. . .in moments!_   
  


* * *

  


Aura wandered through the desert, hoping she was on the right track to the Great Wyrm. She'd never imagined herself willingly going to see any form of reptile, much less the largest one in creation, but it had to be done. _I will not keep seeing my husband and friends as snakes! I just won't!_ 

She sighed briefly, hoping Azure wouldn't be mad at her when she got back. _Oh, who am I kidding, she's going to want to dismember me when I'm back!_ 

"Hello, Rannngeerr!" the reverberating tones of a serpentine monster sounded, echoing from all around her. A seven foot tall creature stood in front of her, hissing and spitting. It looked like a combination of every type of snake known, and Aura had only one reaction to it. 

She screamed. Loud and long enough to almost shatter her throat. The monster, Reptilor, laughed. "Time to die!" 

Aura stopped suddenly. Where a moment before, fear had filled her every pore, now black rage did. "That does it! I have heard that too many times! Amber Ranger Power!" 

Reptilor lunged for her as she morphed. "You will die, Ranger!" Aura moved as quick as thought, and Reptilor slammed straight into a rock! 

"Oh, really?" she almost laughed as the monster tried again to grab her. She moved too quickly, though, and had her Ax out in the next moment. 

"I have had it, I have completely and utterly had it when you guys trying to kill me! It ends now!" Aura roared, rushing at the creature. 

"Temper, temper!" was all it had time to say before her blade bit deeply into it. 

"I'm gonna make snake stew!" she declared. In moments, the monster was nothing but a pile of dust that she kicked at and casually remarked, "That PMS is a killer." 

"Hallo," she was surprised to hear a voice from behind her, and whirled to see a brilliant blue snake somewhat over three hundred feet long, with a scarf around it's neck. "May I help you?" 

_Snake??? Wyrm?? I don't think that qualifies! I've never seen anything this big in my life!_ "A. . .are . ..are you the Great Wyrm?" she managed to stammer out. 

"Yea, I am," it told her in a British accent. "And who are you?" 

"Aura Cranston," she managed not to stutter this time. 

"What are you doing here?" the Great Wyrm asked. "Not many people dare to see me." 

Aura took a deep breath. "I need you help. I need some antivenin," she explained quickly what had happened to her. The Wyrm looked at her thoughtfully. 

"Why should I give it to you?" it asked finally. "You fear me, but that is not enough." 

"What more do you want?" Aura was almost annoyed! What else could this thing want? 

The Wyrm bent it's head and looked at her. "I want you to accept that not all snakes are bad. You cannot judge us all because of one poisonous one." 

Aura smiled suddenly. "I don't think that will be a problem anymore," she told the creature. "Why should I be afraid of normal snakes, now that I've seen you?" 

"Do you fear me?" the Great Wyrm wanted to know. Aura took a long look at it, and examined her own emotions as dispassionately as she could. Finally, she answered. 

"I'm extremely nervous, but I honestly think that's because of how big you are, not because of what you are. You could eat me in one gulp if you wanted to!" 

"Would it help settle your nerves if I told you that I am a vegetarian?" 

Aura laughed, no longer nervous in the slightest bit. "Really?" 

The Wyrm nodded. "Probably how I got so big!" it laughed gently. Aura found herself giggling, and completely at ease. 

"I guess so!" 

"You have made me laugh," the Wyrm told her. "No one in a long time has been able to do that. Most of them just pass out. And you showed courage when you defeated that idiot over there. For that, you will have the antivenin," he pointed with his tail to a stand that appeared a few feet away. 

Aura picked it up and smiled at him. "Thank you, Great Wyrm. Not just for this, but for helping me to get over the only fear I was never able to handle on my own." 

"You are welcome," the Wyrm told her. "Do not forget me, and what you have learned here." 

"I won't forget," Aura promised. _How could I forget?_ 

The Wyrm nudged her gently with its nose. "Go home, and see your family and friends. Be well, Amber Ranger." 

"Thank you, Great Wyrm," she ran over quickly to him and planted a tiny kiss on what would have been his cheek, if snakes had cheeks. A moment later, she had left, teleported back to the Command Center. The Great Wyrm slithered back to his cave, and chuckled softly to himself. 

"Be well, Aura. You have much ahead of you."   
  


* * *

  


Azure was sitting on the table she'd been laying on earlier when Aura teleported into the Command Center. Azure looked up at her sister, who looked back at her for a moment, then looked away. Aura looked at the others, and as her eyes landed on Billy, she smiled. A moment later, she was in his arms, kissing with all her heart. She glanced to the other Rangers. 

"You guys never looked so good!" 

Azure smiled a little, her thoughts were elsewhere at that moment. Aura came over to her sister. "I'm sorry, but I had to do it alone," she giggled a little. "The Great Wyrm was very nice. He's a vegetarian!" 

"It's okay," Azure sighed a little. Aura could tell perfectly well Azure didn't mean that! 

"Azure, I got jumped on the way by one of Vile and Rita's monsters," the Amber Ranger told her. _I'm glad you weren't there to see how I acted, either. Or to be jumped by it, and hurt maybe._ 

"You're okay, that's all that matters," Azure said, not looking at her sister. She glanced at Katia. "I should get her home," she picked her daughter up and held her for a moment. When Adam called her name, she didn't even look at him. "I'll see you at home." she was gone a moment later. 

Aura sighed. "I hope she's okay. Maybe I should have let her come with me." 

"Somehow," Adam mused, "I don't think that's all that's bothering her. I just wish I knew what else." 

Aura considered what she and Azure had talked about before. "I think she's tired of the constant attacks on us," she finally said. Adam sighed. 

"I should go talk to her," was all he said. Aura nodded. 

"I know how she feels," and she did, she was so worn out from the two days of torment she'd spent, and her quest, she felt about to drop straight into Billy's arms. Adam teleported out, hoping to say or do something to help the woman he loved more than anything or anyone in all the world.

**The End**


	38. Dreaming Amber

**Dreaming Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

Adam quietly entered their bedroom, seeing Azure staring at their wedding picture. It hadn't been the wedding of the century, it had just been the two of them, and the minister who had performed it. He asked quietly, "Azure, do you want to talk?" 

"Not really," she replied softly. Adam sat down next to her, and gazed at the picture. 

"I wonder what our lives would have been like if the Rangers had never been needed," he mused. Azure whispered softly next to him, "I wouldn't have to worry every day." 

"I know," Adam told her. "I worry too, Azure." 

"If you only knew what I go through every time you go into battle," she said softly. _Hoping, praying you come back safely. Terrified this time you won't, but so grateful when you do._ 

"Whenever you're in trouble, whenever they do anything to you, it's all I can do to stop myself from going to the moon and blowing them to pieces," Adam said softly. It was the complete truth, and earned him a small smile. As she picked up the picture again, he told her, "The day you told me yes, was the happiest day of my life." 

"And one of the sadder ones for me," Azure reminded him. "that was the day Zedd took Aura and the twins." 

"But we got them back," Adam never let her forget how things had always turned out for the best in the end. Azure sighed. 

"There are times when I wish I didn't have to worry about you and Aura all the time. I just wish we could enjoy one week without having to fear a monster attack," she dropped the picture suddenly, grabbing onto the dresser. 

"Azure!" Adam came over to her as she reassured him she was all right. "You sure?" 

"Yeah," Azure nodded. "I just need a good night's sleep, that's all." 

"Then let's go to bed," Adam suggested. A moment later, they were both in bed, and asleep, after a gentle kiss by Adam to his beloved wife. _Sleep well, Azure. I love you so much._   
  


* * *

  


Things weren't quite so calm in the Cranston household, however. Alaina and Alex were running through the house, defying their long-suffering parents every chance to catch and put them to bed. Alaina ran down the hall, giggling with all her mind, her father in hot pursuit. 

"Can't catch me, daddy!" she giggled. She and her brother both spoke more or less perfectly these days, with only the mildest of childish lisps. Billy stared after his daughter, then a smile curved his lips briefly. He stopped and sat down, suddenly irrevocably absorbed in the ceiling. 

Alaina stopped when he did, and stared at him. "Daddy? You're not gonna chase me?" 

"Nope," he shook his head. Alaina pouted some, her eyes wide and full of tears. 

"I like it when you chase me!" 

"Sorry," Billy told her. "No more chasing tonight." 

His mercurial daughter came over, crawling into his lap, experiencing yet another of her almost instantaneous mood swings. "Tell me a story, daddy! About the Power Rangers!" 

Billy managed to stop himself from smiling too broadly as he told her a wonderful story about the Rangers. The twins knew all about who their parents and their parents' friends were, and Aura had threatened them both with never going to see the Spirit of Earth if they let a single word breath about it. As he told the story, Alaina fell gently asleep in his arms. As he put her to bed, he glanced back to the living room, where Aura was chasing down her son and heir. 

"Alexander Neras Cranston, you are going to bed!" Aura snapped as Alex hid behind a large chair. Aura jumped on top of the chair, reaching behind it, and grabbed her son by his collar. "I said you are going to bed, young man!" 

"No!" Alex screamed. "Not tired!" 

Aura was adamant, though. "You're still going to bed!" a sudden idea was sparked in her by the sight of Alex's necklace. "I'll show you a magic trick if you go to bed when I'm done!" 

Alex considered it for a moment, then nodded. Aura smiled as she touched her own pendent with one finger, calling up a perfect image of her natural parents. An Amber Ranger could summon the image of any of their ancestors, that was one thing she'd learned from the Spirit of Earth. "Look!" 

"Ohhhh!" Alex breathed in awe. "How do you do that?" 

"I told you," Aura smiled. "It's magic. Those are my parents, your grandparents. Some of them, anyway. See, that's Grandma Shaya!" 

Alex smiled. "Yeah!! I wanna see Uncle Samuel, he's fun!" 

Aura chuckled a little. "I'll see if I can get them to come for a visit. Now, if you're very good and go to bed, I'll tell you a story about your grandfather Neras." 

Alex nodded as he ran straight into bed. Aura smiled again as she tucked him in, then began a story about her father. Before it was over with, Alex had drifted off to sleep. Aura looked up to see Billy standing in the doorway, a fussy Shaya in his arms. 

"Two down, one to go!" 

Aura smiled as she joined her husband. "Come on, Shaya, time for bed!" once in the nursery, Aura slipped Shaya into the crib, and softly sang her youngest child to sleep, the same lilting melody that had been sung on Kalakan for thousands of years. 

"They are too adorable when they sleep," Billy murmured. Aura sighed as she leaned against him. 

"Yeah, just like their father." 

Billy laughed softly. "I could say the same thing about their mother. Come on, let's get you to bed, you've had a busy couple of days!" 

"Yeah," Aura sighed deeply as they entered their bedroom, then looked at him, smiling. "Have I told you lately how much I love you?" 

Billy wrapped her up in a warm hug, and whispered in her ear, "I love you so much, Aura." 

"You know, back when I was having my headaches, because of being the Amber Ranger," she said after a few minutes of kissing. "If I'd known everything that would have come of my being that. . . " 

As she paused for a moment, Billy looked at her curiously. "What?" 

"I would have changed nothing except one thing I would have asked you to marry me a lot sooner than you asked me!" 

Billy laughed with joy. "We're together, forever, and nothing can change that." 

"There's no one in all the world I'd rather be with than you," Aura smiled as Billy sat next to her on the bed. 

"Something on your mind?" he asked softly. Aura looked at him slyly. 

"Not really. Just wondering if maybe three kids aren't enough!" 

"They're enough to wear out two Rangers!" 

Aura nodded. "I'm not surprised, considering that one is going to be a Ranger, and as for Alaina and Shaya. . .who knows what they will be?" 

"Hopefully, they'll all be happy with whatever life they live, be it Ranger or non-Ranger." 

Aura nodded. "That's all I want for them, for them to be happy," she noticed he was looking carefully at her for a few moments. "Billy, is something wrong?" 

"I was thinking about your fear of snakes," Billy stopped before telling her what Azure had told them. 

"And you want to know why I was afraid?" Aura asked softly. She still remembered the fear, but now it seemed somewhat silly to her. 

"I already know," Billy said. "What I want to know is why you never told me." 

Aura bit her lip. "Serves me right for leaving her," she muttered under her breath. She knew Azure had to have told them why she had been afraid. "Billy, what do you do when I'm in any danger of any type?" 

He answered that one quickly. "Worry. Wear the Command Center floor out." 

"And try and get between me and the danger if you can," she reminded him. Billy smiled a trifle. 

"I do what you do to Azure," he reminded her. 

"I do that because there are things I can do that she can't, to protect her," Aura told him. "But I'm also capable of protecting myself, in a way no one else can." 

"But do you blame me for trying to protect you, just a little?" Billy asked. 

Aura thought it over for a moment. "No. But there are some things you can't protect me from." 

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" 

She shrugged. "I didn't think it was that important when we first got back to Angel Grove, and it was just after that when everything started happening. I sort of forgot." 

"Forgot?" he thought for a moment over everything that had happened since then, then smiled sheepishly. "I can see how you could do that." 

"Hey, when you're getting turned evil every time you turn around, then you find out you're an alien, well, a few things slip your mind!" 

Billy's grin was broken by a yawn. "Let's get some sleep. We're going to have a busy day tomorrow. You are going to have to talk to Azure about what happened today." 

"I'm more afraid of her than I am of Rita, Zedd, Vile, and all the rest of them put together!" Aura giggled. Billy laughed. 

"Her temper isn't that bad!" then Billy thought for a moment, remembering how Azure had reacted when Galan had blackmailed Aura into coming to his palace in exchange for his and Azure's lives. "Then again. . ." 

Aura smiled as she began to kiss him rather seriously. "But before we sleep," _funny how being put in peril of my life gets me aroused! Billy shouldn't have any complainants at all!_   
  


* * *

  


Vile's evil laughter echoed in the palace as he and his twisted daughter watched the two couples beneath them on Earth. Their spell was going to work perfectly, and would ruin the Amber Ranger and her sister for all time!!! 

"This is too perfect!" Rita's eyes never left Azure and Adam. Vile, on the other hand, was watching Aura and Billy. 

"Oh, how disgusting!" he groaned. "They're trying to have more kids!" 

Rita spared a glance for the romantically entwined Blue and Amber Rangers. "The spell should be taking effect any second now on her. It already has on her sister." 

A few moments later, Aura felt a brief moment of dizziness. Her only reaction was a shout of pure pleasure as Billy did something incredibly good at that same moment. Vile laughed triumphantly, knowing what they did not the spell had just taken effect on her. 

"Now if she would just fall asleep!" Rita whined. They were forced to watch the culmination of Aura and Billy's love, and at last, after three hours, the two of them collapsed into sated sleep. 

"Finally!" Vile groaned. "I thought they were going to go on all night!" 

Together they watched as their plot took shape in the form of living nightmares.   
  


* * *

  


Aura trembled with delight as her husband's hand ran down the side of her neck. That was how she'd awakened every morning since they had been married. She had loved it the first time, as she loved everything he did to her. 

"Good morning," she murmured, gazing into his handsome, though skinless, face. Lord Zedd smiled back at her. 

"Hello, my love." 

"Did you sleep well, my dearest?" Aura asked, eyes dancing with delight. 

Zedd leaned over to kiss her. "With you next to me, how could I not?" 

She returned the embrace with all her heart. "I have never been happier since I realized how much I love you!" 

"Not as happy as I have been," his hands caressed her gently, as only a true love and lover should. Aura laughed with pleasure. 

"Keep doing things like that, and we'll have more kids!" 

Zedd smiled as he embraced her. "Then let's!" 

"Gladly!" Aura smiled. "It's so much better with you than. . with. .. ," she frowned for a moment. "What was his name again?" 

Zedd shrugged. "Who cares? Let's have some fun!" 

Cries and gasps of delight echoed from the royal bedchamber for hours.   
  


* * *

  


Azure smiled as she woke up to look into her husband's face. "That feels so good," she murmured, enjoying the kisses. She moved, only to find she had been tied to the bed. 

"Good morning, dear," Eric smiled at her. "Once again, you're all tied up so early in the morning!" 

Azure nodded. "All thanks to you, and last night!" 

Eric laughed. "So, what sort of delights shall we indulge in today?" 

"Whatever my love's heart desires," Azure smiled wickedly. Things had changed so much since she had realized and admitted her love for Eric. He grinned. 

"I was thinking we could go down to Earth and kick around a few bums," he suggested. Azure gave him a seductive smile. 

"And then. .. .," her tone promised all kinds of delights as he returned the expression. 

"And of course, we can't forget the daily torment of our two favorite prisoners!" 

Azure nodded. "Let me have some fun with one of them!" she begged. 

"Any one of them in particular?" he asked, knowing ahead of time what her answer would be. It had been this way for years. 

"That idiot I used to be married to," she suggested as he began to kiss her. Eric smiled. 

"Oh, that idiot! I'm so glad you came to your senses!" 

Azure nodded. "I'm so glad you came back, and made me!" 

Eric's kisses slipped all the way down her body. "Once Aura was with my father, you saw how you two were both attracted to evil, anyway!" 

"Among other things!" Azure writhed deliciously, enjoying his presence and passion. Things were very noisy in the lunar palace that morning.   
  


* * *

  


Deep within the dungeons, Adam stared at the tear-streaked face of his friend. "I can't believe we are the last tow good Rangers left. And we're locked up in here." 

Billy wasn't even looking at him. "I can't believe. . .she left me. . .for him. . ." he had whispered that a thousand times since Aura had divorced him and married. .. .Zedd of all people! 

"You're not the only one," Adam sighed, thinking about Azure. The object of his thoughts appeared a moment later, in a tight leather dress. 

"Hello, boys," Azure oozed. Billy glared at her as Adam turned his back, not even wanting to look at her right now. 

"What do you want?" Billy hissed. 

Azure did her level best to look innocent, a pose that no longer worked. "Do I have to have a reason for walking around my own castle?" 

"Can't you just leave us alone, Azure?" Billy groaned. "You and Aura have done more than enough!" 

Adam turned tear-filled eyes on her. "Just kill me, Azure. I can't live with watching you like this!" 

"You're no fun!" Azure pouted a little. "Kind of why I chose Eric over you!" 

Adam shook as she uttered those words. "Why, Azure? Why did you do it?" 

"You have to ask?" Azure laughed. "I am happy with Eric, much more than I was with you!" 

As Adam balled up and cried, Billy made his way to his feet. "You and Aura come down here every day and tease us, torment us. ...kill us and get it over with!" 

Azure shook her head. "You don 't get it, do you? You are going to stay alive for a long time!" she reached through the bars of the cell to touch Adam. He jerked away from her, and she growled. "Don't you pull away from me!" Billy hit her at the same moment, and she treated him to one of Aura's favorite moves. He backed away from her, as she glared at him. "You need to learn some manners. Perhaps a few rounds with Goldar would do the trick." 

Billy insulted her as nastily as he was capable of, while Adam peered up at Azure through tear-reddened eyes. "Azure, I still love you!" 

"I don't love you!" Azure said coldly. Adam stared at her, then was reduced to simple tears. There was simply nothing else he could say. 

"Someday," Billy promised. "You and Aura both will pay for all you've done. If you were under spells, we could forgive you, but you did this willingly!" 

Azure shrugged as Eric walked in. "Pathetic! Both of you! Of course we did it willingly, Eric is the man of my dreams!" 

When Billy spat at her, Eric kicked him harshly in the face. "Don't you ever do that again!" 

Adam found his voice again. "SO, what's today's torture? Do we get to watch you two kissing again, or do we get put up a few dozen Tengas?" 

"No!" Azure grabbed Adam by the collar and opened the cell door, dragging him through. "Something much worse!" 

"Hey!" Billy shouted. "Leave him alone!" 

Azure favored him with a glance. "Never!" she kissed Adam delicately, then slammed her knee harshly between his legs. Adam balled up, pulling away from his once-wife, and whined a little. _Will this nightmare never end?_ 

Azure laughed. "Maybe one day, we can have some real fun!"   
  


* * *

  


Adam's eyes opened and he smiled. Another day with Azure, and hopefully she'd be a bit calmer today. She was tossing and turning next to him, but there was nothing much unusual about that. She always tossed and turned. "Azure. .. Azure, wake up." 

"No," Azure mumbled in her sleep. Adam looked at her, it wasn't like her to sleep this late! His eyes widened briefly, she was sweating! 

"Damn," he muttered. "She's sick!" he headed for the phone as Azure screamed out, still asleep, "NO!" Adam looked at her worriedly. _She must be dreaming about Eric again. I wish he were still alive. ..so I could kill him myself._   
  


* * *

  


Lancing bolts of golden light filled the Cranston bedroom, waking Billy up. Aura was her customary warm presence next to him, and he spent a moment gazing at her black-haired beauty.. He leaned over to give her the usual morning kiss, and frowned. _She's warmer than usual. I hope she's all right._ "Aura?" he said worriedly, hating to spoil her sleep. 

Sweat beaded her forehead, but she still slept, and smiled lightly. "Mmmmm. .. .," she whispered in her slumber. "Nice. . ." 

Billy smiled. "Aura, time to wake up, we're supposed to meet Azure and Adam for breakfast!" 

Aura rolled over, still smiling and talking in her sleep. "Oh, Zedd, I love you," she whispered. Billy's eyes went so round they might have been mistaken for saucers! 

"Zedd?!" 

He might have said more, had the phone not rung at that moment. "What?" Billy spat into it 

"Billy, it's me," Adam seemed worried. "Azure's sick, can you and Aura meet me at the hospital?" 

Billy glanced over at Aura, then almost heard the click in his mind as a connection was made. "Get her to the Command Center, now!" 

"Billy, Azure's sick, that requires a hospital!" Adam protested. 

"Azure's not the only one, and I don't seriously think any doctor can help," Billy said. Adam's voice changed to worry. 

"Okay, I trust you. We'll be there in a flash!" Adam hung up, and Billy started getting Aura ready. He didn't think anyone would notice she was wearing one of his shirts, and her shorts as he teleported with her to the Command Center.   
  


* * *

  


Azure and Eric had left after beating Adam severely. That was just one of the many things the two last Rangers had to deal with these days. Billy watched his friend carefully, hoping the torment was ended for the day. When footsteps, all too familiar footsteps, sounded, he knew that hope was false. 

He turned to look at Aura as she entered the prison. She wore her usual outfit these days, that same tight-fitting black ensemble she'd worn so many years before when she'd been split into her good and evil halves. The only difference was a golden crown. Billy ignored her as she came closer to him. 

"Hello there, Billy," she purred nastily. "Have a good night's rest?" 

"What do you want?" Billy growled. "Haven't you done enough to us?" 

Aura laughed. "If we'd done enough, you'd be dead," she smiled. "And that won't happen for a long time!" 

"Why?" he stared at her, asking the question he asked in his heart every day. "Why are you doing this?" 

"I like to see you squirm, that's why," the former Amber Ranger chuckled. " It's fun!" 

"I bet!" 

He stiffened as Aura ran a hand down his back. "What's the matter, Billy? You always said you only wanted to see me happy. Well, I am now!" 

"You betrayed your friends!" Billy would never forget the day it had happened, the day their world had ended. For a brief moment, it replayed in his mind. Aura and Azure had lured the other Rangers to the Command Center, then dropped the defense shield to let Zedd, Rito, Goldar, and every Tenga and monster they possessed in there. He and Adam had been drugged, and awakened to a living nightmare in the cell they occupied now. The next time they'd seen their wives, Aura had been with Zedd, and Azure was with Eric. And from that moment on, hell had reigned on Earth. 

"I found my real true love!" she hissed back. Cold light flashed in her eyes, and he wondered for a moment what had happened to the wonderful, caring woman he had loved so much. 

"And betrayed the Spirit, too," Billy murmured. He remembered the look of utter devastation in the Spirit of Earth's eyes when Aura had turned evil, and it made him hurt even now. 

Aura laughed. "So?" Billy growled a vile insult to her, and she seized him by the neck, tightly. "I almost killed you once, Billy, don't make me finish the job so soon!" 

Zedd's chuckle sounded from behind her. "Hello, my love," he laid a hand on her shoulder, running it down her spine. Aura smiled and leaned against him. 

"Just having some fun with my ex!" she told him. Billy's heart sank as he saw the glittering love in her eyes turned towards Zedd. 

The lord of evil kissed her neck. "Maybe we can have a little more fun!" 

"Sounds good to me!" Aura smiled. "Maybe Billy should watch. .. so he remembers what he once had, and never will have again!" 

"Perfect!" Zedd declared, chaining Billy and Adam to the wall in the perfect position to watch what they did. "My love!" he kissed Aura passionately, hands touching her. 

Aura threw her head back in joy. "And to think, I spent so many years married to him when I could've been with you, my beloved Zedd!"   
  


* * *

  


"What is it?" Adam stared at Billy's worried face as the Blue Ranger ran scan after scan on Aura and Azure. 

"The scans say it's something called a 'might have been' nightmare," Billy reported. 

"Might have been?" Adam frowned, wanting to know what Rita and Vile had done to his love this time. 

Billy explained, "It puts whoever is under it in a dreamworld, so real the dreamer doesn't even know they're dreaming, and they see a possible reality. They are aware of everything that happened there as if it were real, feeling the same emotions and desires that they would have if it had really happened." 

"I don't think I want to see what she's dreaming," Adam shuddered. "he was literally screaming!" 

Billy glanced at Aura. "I think Aura and I need to talk." 

Adam felt Azure's forehead gently. "Her fever's gotten worse!" 

Billy's eyes widened as he ran another scan, then looked at Adam. "There's a side effect. They're both running fevers. If we don't cure them in twenty-four hours. . from the onset of the spell. . .they'll both die."   
  


* * *

  


Billy was a simple mass of tears after Aura and Zedd left. He had never thought it was possible, but he hated Aura with all his heart now. Adam felt much the same way about Azure. As the two old friends mourned the loss of the their loves together, a very familiar voice spoke up from outside the cage. 

"Hello, Rangers." 

Billy looked up to see Rita standing there. "Oh, great, another torture, we have to listen to the screaming twit!" 

Rita shrugged. "How would you like to get revenge on those two sisters?" she asked. 

Billy and Adam both set up in that moment, life returning as it hadn't in years. "How?" they chorused. 

"Join me," Rita urged. "Together, we will destroy them all. Starting with the former Amber Ranger!" 

Billy narrowed his eyes. "What do you want other than that?" staying in here hadn't dropped his IQ one point. 

Rita glared at them. "I want her dead. And her sister to have to watch her die. I also want Zedd and the brat of his to die!" 

"I'll do it," Adam's voice was as cold as ice. Billy nodded after a moment's thought. "They don't deserve to live. Aura's not a Ranger anymore, she's a traitor, and more evil than I ever dreamed possible." 

Rita smiled coldly. "Then come with me, we have a lot to plan!" she produced a key and unlocked the cell. Things were about to change a great deal around here.   
  


* * *

  


Adam placed a cold, wet towel on Azure's burning forehead. "Be all right, please be all right!" he had lost track of the number of times he had said that. 

"I found it!" Billy snapped out suddenly. Tommy ran straight over to him; the others had been called in once Billy had realized how serious this was. He'd needed all the help he could get to find a cure. 

"What is it?" the White Ranger had to know. Billy read off the results. 

"A potion made from the Janisper plant can cure them, and break the spell," he reported. Tommy nodded. 

"How and where do we find this plant?" 

Billy scanned the world quickly. "The only place they exist on Earth is in the Amazon rainforest," he reported. "And there's not many there. You're going to have to hurry." 

Tommy nodded. "Kat, Aisha, you two are with me," he said. He glanced briefly at the two sweating sisters, then back to Billy. "How long do we have?" 

"For Azure, nine hours," Billy sighed. "For Aura, twelve." 

"We'll be back as soon as we can," Tommy promised. Adam didn't even notice, so focused was he on his ailing wife. 

"Hang in there, Azure, hang in there!" he begged. "Don't leave me. . .ever!"   
  


* * *

  


Eric, Azure, Aura, and Zedd re-entered the dungeons, after they'd sated themselves in public and private both. Eric's eyes widened with rage as he saw the cell empty. "What?" 

Aura growled in rage. "They're gone!" 

"This is not happening! Who let them escape? Heads will roll!" Azure screamed. Aura stomped up and down. 

"Who would dare to help them?" she yelled. Eric shrugged. 

"Whomever it was, they will pay for this dearly!" he promised. Aura suddenly stopped, and looked to Zedd. 

"Rita." 

Azure snapped, "She will pay for this!" Aura nodded. 

"How dare she take away our toys!?" 

Eric tried to soothe his enraged wife. "We will get them back, ands she will die!" 

Aura thought. "Where would she take them?" 

Zedd closed his eyes. "This is the only place I would know of. Come, we'll have to search for them."   
  


* * *

  


Billy sighed as he place a cloth on Aura's forehead this time. Both she and Azure were sweating badly enough to drench stone. "What am I going to do if she dies?" he murmured to himself. His dark thoughts were interrupted a moment later when Tommy and his team teleported in, a Janisper plant held in one hand. Billy smiled. 

"Got it!" Tommy reported, holding it out to his friend. Billy started through the recipe he'd found, then paled. 

"What is it?" Adam didn't like the way Billy looked one bit! 

"By the time we get it done, Azure will have only half an hour left," he told them. Adam frowned, looking at Billy. 

"Then get busy," was all he said. He looked back to Azure. "Hang in there, my love! Don't quit on me now!"   
  


* * *

  


Rita and Vile stood side by side, watching the Rangers as they scurried around trying to get the cure done in time. Rita's only regret was she couldn't see into the dreams she'd placed Azure and Aura in. She wondered what they were seeing, what might have been for them. 

"By the time they finish that potion, the two girls should be done for!" she laughed. Vile nodded. 

"I do believe Aura's actually enjoying the dream so far!" Vile chuckled. They were able to see the reactions, but that was it. The dreams were closed to them. "Too bad that it ends with her death!" 

"And that Azure should die shortly after, from being in it too long!" 

Vile nodded. "We'll finally be rid of them, both of them!" 

"And then, the Rangers!" Rita's laughed echoed in the long eternal night of space   
  


* * *

  


In a dark room in the depths of the palace, Rita, Billy, and Adam made their plot. "We need to make sure they are together, away from Zedd and Eric," Rita began. 

"They've probably found out that we're gone by now," Billy mused. Adam shrugged carelessly. 

"Who cares? Our world is dead, thanks to them!" 

Billy sighed. "What I mean is, they're probably looking for us," he explained. "If we could separate them from Zedd and Eric. . ." 

"We could get them!" Rita laughed evilly. These two should've been on her side years ago! 

Billy nodded. "And I've got an idea. It's simple. One of s shows ourselves, just enough to get Aura and Azure to chase us. Rita, you can do something to block Zedd and Eric from following." 

"Perfect!" Rita cackled. " Now, which of you is going to show yourselves?" 

"I thought it up, Adam can do it!" Billy snapped. Adam smiled evilly. 

"With pleasure!" 

Billy laughed. "Good. Now run along, and bring our 'wives' here to play. . .and to die!"   
  


* * *

  


On Earth, Azure glanced around, frowning. "This used to be Angel Grove, didn't it? And that was our house," she pointed to a run down house that barely stood up at all. 

Aura hardly spared a glance for it. "I like the palace better." 

Azure smiled. "Same here!" 

Aura wrapped an arm around Zedd and kissed him. "After all, my true love lives there!" 

"As does mine," Azure laughed, then noticed something. "Aura come here." 

"What is it?" 

"Something or someone moved over there. Let's go check it out, it could be you know who.," she suggested. Aura nodded, and glanced back at Zedd and Eric. 

"We'll be right back. This shouldn't be a problem!" she told them. The two men nodded, watching as their wives headed off. In a few moments, they were where the Youth Center had once stood. In the ruins was Adam, smiling at them. 

"Stop right there, Adam!" Aura snapped. "You can't escape us!" 

The former Black Ranger laughed. "I have no intentions of escaping! Actually, you may want to turn around! 

"Oh, come on!" Aura snorted. "Do you really think we're going to fall for that?" 

Just as the words fell from her mouth, two skeletal arms seized them. Azure screamed, "Put em down!" 

"Zedd! Eric!" Aura struggled, screaming at the top of her lungs for her husband and son-in-law. Adam shook his head. 

"They can't help you this time!" he told them. "Rita made sure o that." 

Aura hissed at him, wanting his blood on her fingers. "You can't possibly think you'll get away with this?" 

"I don't think, I know!" Adam didn't believe they'd been caught so easily as they teleported back to Rita's secret hideout. Aura was screaming, struggling, yelling, and swearing like a champion, as was Azure. All the younger girl wanted was for Adam to get just close enough for her to make him a soprano for the rest of his very short life! 

"You're all going to die for this!" Aura promised. "We would've let you live long lives in the cells!" 

Billy came up to her, hate in his eyes. "It's not us who are going to die, but you!" 

"Zedd will kill you for this, Billy!" Aura promised. Billy shook his head. 

"If he can. By now, he is being crushed, as is Eric!" 

"You bastards!" Azure hissed. How dare they kill her true love? 

"I am going to kill you all," Aura swore. "You could've never escaped on your own! Rita! Where are you, you half-baked sorceress?" 

Rita was there a moment later. "Pathetic wimps!" she spat at them. Aura shook her head. 

"Adam & Billy are right there, if you're looking for pathetic wimps!!!" 

Rita laughed. "That'll be enough of you. Billy," she didn't take her eyes off Aura. "How do you intend to off your ex?" 

"I was considering cutting her treacherous black heart out!" 

Rita handed Billy a knife. "Then do so! She's yours!" 

Aura struggled in Rito's iron grip. "I've always been a better fighter than you, Billy, you know that!" 

"Not anymore!" Billy heartlessly slammed the knife into her stomach, jerking upwards. Azure screamed, her forehead beaded with sweat suddenly. 

"Aura!" 

"No. . .Billy. . .," Aura, the real Aura's, eyes gleamed out for a moment, and darkness swept over them both. 

It was ended.   
  


* * *

  


Billy quickly finished up the potion, then gave it to Alpha to give to Azure. He had enough for Aura already, and they injected them almost at the same time. "I'm here, Aura," he whispered. "You're going to be okay." 

Azure screamed suddenly, her breathing became easier, and her fever broke. "Azure!" Adam smiled. "Please wake up, please be okay!" 

As the cure entered Aura, she screamed a great deal louder than Azure had. Blood poured from an open wound in her stomach as the injuries suffered in the dream realm became reality. Billy swore and reached for something to stop the bleeding with as Aura thrashed about. 

"Billy, step away," the Spirit of Earth was there! "I shall try and heal her." 

Billy nodded. "Please, don't let her die! I can't live without her!" 

"She will be fine," the Spirit healed her other half, and faded, her work done. Aura's eyes were clearing, Azure's were already open. As she saw Adam, she screamed at the top of her lungs! "Get way from me!" 

On the next table, when Aura saw Billy, she growled fiercely. "You son of a bitch!" 

"Aura? What's wrong?" Billy wondered. 

"Azure? What's wrong?" Adam asked at the same moment. 

AURA, AZURE, CALM YOURSELVES, Zordon's voice cut through their screams. Aura stared up at him and shook her head, trying to clear it. She glanced to Azure. "What. .what happened?" 

"I don't know," Azure frowned. "Last thing I remember was Billy stabbing you, and Adam helping." 

Aura nodded. "And I was calling to. . .Zedd for help," memory and reality flooded back to her; she looked sick to her stomach. Azure didn't look any better! "I. .we. .oh. .I. . ." 

Billy went straight to her, holding her. "It's going to be okay, I promise." 

"Billy, I liked it!" Aura groaned. "I liked it! In the dream, what he was doing, I lik. .no, I loved it!" 

Billy shook his head. "It was just a dream. You didn't have much control over what you were doing. It was a spell, Rita and Vile placed it on you." 

"I can't even sleep without them attacking!" Azure screamed. Adam sighed. 

"It was just a dream, Azure, it's over now!" 

Aura sighed. "What kind of spell was it? Does it have a name?" 

"The might have been spell," he explained what it meant, and what it had done to them. Aura buried her face in her hands and started to cry again. Adam glanced to Azure, who didn't look much better off than Aura was, and knew better than to try and hold her. Billy, on the other hand, held Aura. 

"I want to go home," Azure said softly. Adam nodded. 

"We'll go then," they were gone a moment later, just as Aura pulled away from Billy. He looked deep into her eyes. 

"Would you like to go home?" she nodded, too hurt to speak. _I could've loved Zedd. I could've happened. No!!! It's my worst nightmare come true! Literally!_   
  


* * *

  


Azure sat in her rocker in the nursery, her eyes on Katia. Adam stood near her, watching. "Azure. . .what. .what happened in the dream? You don't have to tell details." 

"I don't want to talk about it," Azure told him. Adam sighed unwilling agreement. "And don't ever ask me to!:" 

"I won't," Adam promised. "I'm sorry," there was true grief in his voice. 

"I didn't men to snap, Adam," Azure told him. "Adam? At the end of my dream, my dream self. .was getting weaker, feverish. It felt like I was dying." 

"You and Aura had fevers all day," Adam told her. "A side effect of the spell." 

Azure raised an eyebrow. "What about the dying part?" 

"We barely curd you in time," Adam reported. "You had less time than Aura, if we hadn't cured you. . .you'd. .have. .." 

"Died?" 

Adam nodded. "But we cared you. We got the cure and made it!" 

Azure sighed, and went to stare out the window. "I can't even feel safe in my own house anymore," she murmured. 

"Azure, I know how you feel," Adam tried to tell her. She glared at him. 

"Do you? You can't even begin to know!" she snapped. 

Adam sighed. "I guess I don't know. I wish I did. I wish no one had ever invaded Earth. . .wish the Rangers had never been needed. ..wish we didn't have to live like this." 

"But we do," Azure sighed resentfully. "And I chose this life the day I said yes to marrying you." he tried to call her name, but she shook her head. "I need time, Adam. I'm so scared, the emotions are running on a rampage inside of me. I don't understand them!" 

Adam came over to her. "If you need time, I'll give it to you. I love you, Azure." 

"Adam, why can't they leave us both alone for a while? Let us get on with our lives?" 

Adam wished he could hold her. "Maybe they will now. There's nothing more I want to get on with our lives." 

"What they haven't killed off in me," Azure whispered. A bit louder, she asked, "Hold me, please." 

"I love you, Azure," Adam told her as he held her tightly. Almost like two children, they stayed that way all night.   
  


* * *

  


"Want to talk?" Billy asked Aura once he'd put Shaya down for the night. Aura sighed. 

"Billy, I hate my life," she said simply. "I hate living in fear, living in constant worry over when you or me or Azure or one of the others is going to be kidnapped or put under a spell somehow. I hate having things like Zedd, Eric, Vile, and Rita doing what they've done to me and to all of us!" 

"I know, I hate it too!" Billy agreed. Aura sighed deeply. 

"Billy, the worst part of it is, I have no choice in it. You and the others can give your powers up at any time. Mine are born into me, and will be part of me until I die." 

Billy looked at her, the woman he loved with all his heart. "I wish I could tell you that everything will be okay, but I'm not even sure about that." 

Aura sighed. "Somedays, I wonder what might've happened, if Mother and I had never returned from Kalakan. If we'd went anywhere else, but here." 

"Alex, Alaina, and Shaya wouldn't be sleeping in the other rooms." 

Aura rattled off a list of everything that had happened to them since she and Shaya had returned to Earth. "None of that would've happened." 

Billy looked into her eyes. "Could you honestly say that the bad times outweigh the good?" 

"I don't know," Aura sighed. "Before that nightmare, I think the good did outweigh the bad. But now, I saw something that could have happened. There was a chance it could've happened. . ." 

"But it didn't, did it" Billy told her. "You're here with me, alive, healthy, and with three adorable children." 

"Yeah," Aura sighed, looking into the distance. 

"What happened?" Billy wondered. "If you don't want to talk about it just yet, I understand." 

Aura shivered badly for a few moments, then told him everything she had experienced. She left out anything to do with Azure; that was her sister's tale to tell. When she was done, Billy was tense as a harpstring. "Zedd had better be thankful he's dead already!" 

Aura's tears overflowed. "I. .. in the dream. . .I loved him as much as I love you!" 

Billy held her. "I'm the jealous type, what can I say? It was just a dream." 

Aura shook her head. "It might not have been. When I was in the past. ..if he had just been a little nicer, or if I hadn't remembered you in time. .." 

Billy held Aura's face so that their eyes met. "Remember this. You can't live in the past. This is the here and now. If you stay in the past, you'll miss the present," he was rewarded by a tiny smile. "There's that smile I fell in love with." 

Aura leaned against him, heart full of mixed tragedy and joy. "I don't know if things could be worse or not, but what I have is still good." 

Billy held her. "I love you, Aura Cranston." 

"And I love you, Billy Cranston." 

**The End**


	39. Altered Amber

**Altered Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

Azure puttered about in the kitchen, fixing dinner, as Adam changed Katia in the bathroom. She hummed a little to herself, she had been doing her best to avoid the Rangers, and everyone connected with them, since she and Aura had awakened from that hideous nightmare realm. She almost jumped when Adam came into the kitchen. 

"What's for dinner?" was all he asked, though he did have a nervous tone in his voice. 

"A casserole," she replied. Adam smiled a little. 

"Mmmmm. . .sounds good. You make excellent casserole," he replied. Azure glanced at him, and as she took her attention away from the stove, she jarred a pot, spilling water over her arm. 

Azure barely noticed as Adam came over to start washing it over, but when she did, she pulled away. "I can handle it myself, Adam." 

He sighed a little, and stepped away, pain in his eyes. Azure ignored it and returned to her room. A soft and well-known voice startled her a bit. "Azure." 

She looked up to see the Spirit of Earth standing there. "Spirit?" 

"Yes," the Spirit came over to her. "You are troubled, child." 

Azure sighed as she slid the suitcase she had been looking at under the bed. "It's nothing important." 

"You plan to leave your husband," the Spirit said plainly. Azure sat on the bed, eyes shadowed. 

"I don't know," she murmured. "Honestly. I was looking for my backpack. I wanted to do a little hiking this weekend, alone." 

The Spirit laid a hand on her arm. "You have wondered something. What might have been." 

"I guess," Azure was barely listening. 

"You have wondered what might have been if the Rangers never existed, if the aliens had never invaded to cause you or them any harm?" 

"Among other things," Azure admitted. 

"Would you like to see?" the Spirit offered. Azure looked at the Spirit, then nodded. The Spirit held her hand out. 

"Then come." Azure took a deep breath, then took the hand. For a moment the world went gray, and when it cleared, they stood in a graveyard Azure recognized after a moment's thought as one she had seen in New York. 

"Where are we?" she asked, heart plummeting already. _Who died?_ 

"A funeral," the Spirit said, a note of pain in her voice. Azure glanced around. She saw herself, her parents, her grandparents, several friends that lived in New York, but no one from Angel Grove was there. "Where's Aura?" 

The pallbearers approached with the coffin held between them, as the Spirit said softly, "There she is." 

"Aura?" Azure paled. "NO!" suddenly she noticed who was sitting next to her. "Eric? What's he doing here?" 

"You and he are dating," the Spirit told her. She gave the spirit a questioning look. 

"You're joking, right?" the Spirit shook her head. "All because Rita was never released from her trash can." 

The Spirit nodded. "Azure, it was Eric who killed Aura." 

Azure jerked up straight. "What? I'm dating the man who killed my sister?" 

"Yes," the Spirit confirmed. "Look at yourself," Azure looked across to her other self, and paled to see the fear hiding in her eyes. 

"I don't like this," she moaned. "What about Adam? What of him?" 

The world once again grayed out, and as it cleared, they were staring at a gutter. Azure barely recognized the filthy, fat person sleeping there with a bottle of beer held tightly in one hand. Azure almost felt sick. "That isn't Adam, is it?" 

The Spirit nodded. "He gave up his martial arts, and he took to drinking. There is nothing in his life he believes in at all. Nothing." 

"Oh, Adam," Azure whispered in pain. _Oh, my love. . .to see you like this. . ._ 

"Is there anyone else you would like to see?" 

Azure shook her head violently. "I don't think I could handle it." 

The Spirit looked straight into her eyes. "Azure, things have been bad in your life, but there is always hope. And I promise you, a day will come when the Rangers won't be needed, for there will be peace on Earth." 

Azure smiled a little. "Thank you for showing me this. It makes things a little clearer for me," as they appeared back in the real world, in her familiar bedroom, the Spirit faded away. Azure sat on the bed, then laid down, in tears.   
  


* * *

  


Adam looked down at Katia, and whispered, "Sleep tight," he glanced up at the sound of Azure's sudden tears. "I hope your mother and I can work things out." 

"Adam," the Spirit of Earth's sudden appearance startled him. "You are worried over Azure." 

"You have wondered what would have been, had you never become a Ranger, never been needed," she said softly. "If you wish, I can show you what might have happened." 

Adam nodded, and as the Spirit took his hand, the world shifted to gray, then was real once more. They were in a spotless living room, with a figure Adam knew well sitting in front of a television set. Another person he knew entered, and his jaw dropped clean to the floor. 

"Azure?" indeed, it was she. With fright in her eyes and a bruise on her cheek the size of someone's hand: and he knew who's hand it was. 

"She cannot see or hear you, Adam," the Spirit told him. "She is Mrs. Eric Matthews here." 

Adam shook his head as Azure was grabbed by Eric. The Spirit continued, "She fears him and hates every moment of her life with him, but cannot leave him." 

"Why can't she?" Adam watched as Eric leered at Azure. 

"Did I say you could leave?" he chuckled. Azure whispered a terrified apology as Adam stared in shock. The Spirit touched his shoulder and gestured towards a plaque on the wall. 

"That is why," Adam looked to see something that floored him completely. _Aura?? Dead??_ 

"No. . .he. . .didn't. .. .?" 

The Spirit nodded. "She discovered he had raped Azure and went after him. He had a gun, and killed her. Azure saw him do it, but he has terrorized her into not speaking." 

Adam watched in horror as Eric abused Azure, laughing the whole time. It was plain in this timeline Eric didn't know he was Zedd's son, but he was still just as much of an abusive freak as he had always been. "And into marrying him," he murmured. As Azure broke down into tears, Adam turned to the Spirit. "I. . .I can't watch this." 

"Is there anyone else you wish to see?" the Spirit asked. Adam shook his head. 

"No," he told her. "After that, I'm scared to even know what happened to the others!" 

"You should be," was all the Spirit said as she returned him to their apartment. She faded away as Adam ran to Azure and held her tightly. 

"Azure," he whispered, hardly daring to believe that she was safe in his arms. "You're all right." 

Azure nodded, holding him at arm's length's. "I know." 

"The Spirit," he whispered. "She showed me. . .," at the look in her eyes, he shook his head. "You don't want to know." 

She touched his face gently. "That was a nightmare to even think about!" 

"It was worse to see," he shivered badly. "Believe me. Oh, Azure, I love you so much," he leaned in and kissed her briefly before she moved away. For a moment, Adam wondered who else the Spirit would visit that day. . .and if they what they saw, could in anyway compare to the nightmare he and Azure had been visited with.   
  


* * *

  


Billy watched happily as Aura played with the children. There had been a shadow in her eyes for a while, ever since she and Azure had been awakened from the dreaming spell. He sighed, then smiled a little, and headed for the garage. The toaster needed fixing, after Alex's last attempt at being "just like mommy" and cooking. 

"Billy?" he looked up to see the Spirit of Earth standing there, a concerned look in her eyes. 

"Spirit?" he got to his feet. "What is it? Is something wrong?" 

She nodded. "With you." 

"I don't understand," he frowned. Nothing was wrong with him!' 

"Did you not say you wished they had never come and tried to conquer Earth?" the Spirit reminded him. Billy sighed. 

"Well, yes," he admitted. The Spirit held out her hand to him. 

"Come and see what would have happened if they never had." 

He took her hand, and they were elsewhere in seconds. Billy's eyes widened as he heard a terrified scream he recognized as Azure's. Eric's laughter echoed all around them. They were in a small apartment, it looked like, dark and dank. Eric had Azure down on the floor, and Billy nearly threw up at what he was doing to her. 

A moment later, Aura stood framed in the doorway, eyes burning with rage. Billy took a deep breath. "What's going on here?" 

"This is the first time Azure was raped by Eric," the Spirit told him. Billy's heart sank as Aura seized Eric by the shoulder and pulled him away from Azure. 

"Don't you touch my sister!" she declared. Billy recognized the scene from Aura's memories, but it took a sudden turn he didn't expect. Eric pulled his gun. 

"I will if I want to!" Aura leaped for the gun, but not at the blinding speed she had in the memory. Eric pulled the trigger, to Azure's scream, and Aura Robinson fell to the ground, a hole directly in her chest. Azure tried to get to her sister, but Eric pushed her away, laughing at what he had done. 

"No! Aura!" Billy screamed, not believing what he saw. The Spirit shook her head. 

"It is too late. Because they n ever attacked, the Amber Ranger powers remained hidden within her. She died trying to save her sister, and her sister was never saved," the Spirit told her. Billy stared, wide-eyed. 

"What's going to happen to Azure?" Billy had to know. When the Spirit told him, he wished he hadn't asked. 

"She marries Eric. Their parents mourned for Aura so much, they never realized what happened. Eric was never even brought up on charges. Azure lived the rest of this life in total fear." 

Tears filled his eyes. "Oh, Aura, my sweet Aura!" _To live without her, a world without her. . ._ 

"What about you?" the Spirit murmured. "What happened to William Cranston in this timeline?" 

"What did happen?" he wondered. A moment later, the world was gray again. When they had returned to reality, Billy found himself staring at . ..himself. The other him sat in front of a computer screen, with thick glasses and ragged clothes on. 

"So, what's going on with me here," Billy wondered. The Spirit almost smiled. 

"You took on a life that none of your friends would have imagined: a life of crime." 

Billy stared. "Say what?" 

"You hack into other people's computers, mostly banks and institutions and things like that," the Spirit told him. "With no Rangers, you never came out of your shell, you remained a loner all your days." 

"Am I. . .do I. . .is there anyone in my life. ..someone I love, anyone?" at the Spirit's denial, he barely managed to stop himself from crying. "This. . .this can't be happening!" 

"Because there are no Rangers, it did," he was told. Billy stared at the nightmare version of himself and took a deep breath. 

"All this, because Rita never escaped from her dumpster?" the Spirit nodded. "I want to go home. To my Aura, my alive Aura!" 

"She needs to see this too," the Spirit said as they returned to the normal world he knew and loved. For a moment, as he was alone in the garage, he leaned against a wall and cried for what might have been.   
  


* * *

  


"Aura?" the Amber Ranger looked up at the calling of her name, and smiled to see the Spirit of Earth standing there. "You are a good mother." 

"Thank you," she said. "I do my best." 

"There is something you must see," the Spirit told her. 

Aura got to her feet. "What's that?" 

"An answer to a couple of questions you have," the Spirit came a little closer to her, smiling gently. Aura glanced down at her offspring. 

"What about the kids? I can't just leave them here!" 

The Spirit shook her head. "Time will not pass here. To them, you will be gone a matter of nanoseconds." 

"All right," Aura smiled. "Let's go." the Spirit held out her hand and Aura took it. "What sort of questions am I going to get answered?" 

"What would have happened if the Earth was never attacked. . .what would have happened if you and your mother never came back from Kalakan." 

"I have wondered about those," Aura mused. The Spirit nodded as the world faded, then reformed. They were in a graveyard, of all places! 

"This is what would have become of you had you never been needed as a Ranger," the Spirit told her, gesturing towards a gravestone. 

"What in the world?" Aura's eyes were wide with shock. "How?" 

"Your sister's now-husband," the Spirit told her. Aura growled, "Who?" they were in a house a moment later, with a badly bruised Azure in a corner, crying her eyes out. "Eric." 

"NO!" Aura screamed. "Not him!" 

"With no Rangers needed, your family never moved back to Angel Grove, she never met Adam, and ended up living the rest of her life in fear." 

"Adam. ..Billy. . .the others. . what about them?" Aura had to know, had to know what kind of a difference the Power Rangers had made. .in their own lives. 

"Would you like to see what happens to Billy?" the Spirit asked. Aura nodded. "I want to see Billy and Adam both! I want to see them all!" 

A moment later, they stood behind Billy as he sat in his garage, staring at his computer monitor. "This is what happened to Billy." 

Aura looked at him. "He looks. . .well. .what is with the glasses, he looks better with contacts, doesn't he know that?" 

"With no Rangers," the Spirit said, "he never came out of his shell." 

"W. .what does he do?" Aura wondered, almost afraid to hear the answer. The Spirit answered her, though. 

"Aura, Billy is what is known as a hacker." 

Aura paled. "No way! 

"Yes, way," the other half of her soul nodded. Aura stared helplessly at the nightmare version of her beloved husband, then turned to the Spirit. 

"Adam. .what about Adam?" in a half a moment, she was staring at the filth-covered wreck in the street. "I am not seeing this!" she declared. The spirit nodded. 

"You are seeing it." 

"How could this happen to him?" Aura wondered. The Spirit told her, "Heartbreak after heartbreak, failure after failure. It was too much for him, he gave up martial arts and took to drinking." 

"This just can't be!" Aura moaned. "I can't see what the others turned out like, I just can't!" 

"There is one more question that needs to be answered for you," the Spirit told her. Aura looked at her, struggling to regain her composure. 

"What. . .what would've happened if I'd never come back from Kalakan?" 

The Spirit nodded, and in a second, they were once more in a graveyard. This time, however, Adam stood in front of the grave, which bore a name that struck to Aura's very core. 

"Billy. . .no. .how. ..who. . what happened?" 

"Without you," the Spirit told her. "He didn't want to face living in his timeline." 

Aura watched as Adam knelt by the grave. "Why did you do it, man?" he whispered. "First Aura, then you, now this happens to Azure," tears shone on Adam's face. 

"Azure?" Aura wondered. "What happened to Azure?" 

"Listen, and you will know," the Spirit advised. Aura nodded, and kept her ears open. 

"I can't believe she killed him," Adam went on. "I don't even know who this Eric guy is. The police won't even let me see her." 

"She. . .she killed Eric?" Aura's voice filled with disbelief. 

"Heck, none of us were even allowed to go to the trial!" Adam declared, completely oblivious to the spirit and woman so close to him. The Spirit nodded agreement to Aura's statement. 

"She was tried and convinced of murder. There was no evidence that he tried to do anything to her," she told Aura. 

"I could've told them what happened," Aura murmured. "But. .but I didn't come back." _I had no idea that this would happen if I hadn't returned!_ 

"You never did," the Spirit agreed. Suddenly, the familiar sound of a communicator broke the silence of the graveyard. Adam sighed. 

"Man, I'll be back. It's not the same without you. Zack tries, but it's just not the same." 

"Zack? The Blue Ranger?" Aura just barely managed to restrain a giggle. It just didn't have quite the same ring to it as "Billy the Blue Ranger." She looked at the Spirit. "What happened to me? Where am I?" 

The Spirit took her hand one more time, transporting them across time and space to a spacious chamber in a richly appointed palace. Aura glanced around. "Nice place." _at least I'm not poor. But am I happy? How can I be, without Billy?_ 

"Aura?" her thoughts halted dead in their tracks as Galan entered the room, looking around. _Oh, please, don't tell me he caught me!_ 

"Your husband," the Spirit told her. Aura's eyes nearly tripled in size. 

"I don't believe this!" Aura snapped. The Spirit nodded as Galan looked around angrily. 

"Where is she? Aura?!?!!" 

Aura watched as another version of herself entered the room. "What is it?" her other self was also heavily pregnant. 

Galan smiled at her. "The ships are ready . We're ready to leave for Earth, to destroy those Rangers!" 

"Took you long enough!" Alternate Aura growled. "Come on, I've waited six months to get even with them! I'm itching for revenge!" 

"Let us go!" Galan declared. Hand in hand, they left the room. 

Real Aura stared. "I didn't hear that. They're going to Earth?" 

The Spirit nodded. "When you left, your resentment towards the Rangers turned you to a life of evil." 

"And. .. I . .married him. . ." 

"And you are carrying his child," the Spirit confirmed the hideous reality in front of her. Aura paled so much she looked like a ghost. "Would you like to continue? Or go home? To your real home?" 

"I want to go home!" Aura declared wild-eyed. "My home, my world my timeline!" they were there a moment later, with Billy entering the room. Aura ran straight to him and wrapped her arms around him warmly. 

"Oh, Billy, you're alive!" she murmured. "You're alive!" 

He returned the embrace. "Of course I'm alive!" 

Aura turned back to the Spirit. "Thank you. It scared the daylights out of me, but I needed to see that." 

"You four now have your answers," the Spirit told them. "Do with them as you please." 

"We will," Aura nodded. "And thank you again." 

As the Spirit vanished, Billy sighed some. "Why do I get the feeling we all need a vacation?" 

Aura went to the phone to call Adam and Azure. "Adam, it's Aura. Wild guess, you and Azure just saw something that could have happened if Rita never escaped, right?" 

"Yeah," Adam said, glancing over to where Azure was crying on the bed. 

"I think we all need to talk some," Aura said. "And we all need a serious vacation, too!" 

Adam nodded. "Azure, want to go over to Aura's? She and Billy. . .well. .they saw what we did," at Azure's nod, he turned back to the phone. "We'll be over soon." 

"See you then," Aura said as she hung up. She looked over to Billy, letting her eyes fill with all the love and tenderness she held for him. She had the distinct suspicion things would never quite be the same between them now. 

They could very well be getting better.   
  


* * *

  


Three days later, after arrangements for a Hawaiian vacation had been made, Aura threw the last of her bags into the car. She, Billy, Adam, Azure, and their children were going to the island resort to recover from what had happened over the last few days. They hadn't spoken nearly as much as they wanted to about what the Spirit had told them, somehow they just couldn't while being so near to their homes. Billy had suggested the vacation to get them all away from everything. The other Rangers would keep an eye on things while they were gone. 

"I hoe we are not needed for one second over the next two weeks!" Aura declared. Adam was standing a little away from them, looking at Azure. 

_She needs this more than any of us,_ he thought. Azure caught him looking at her, and gave him a small smile. Adam smiled back. "You ready to go?" Azure nodded lightly. 

Tommy watched as they headed for the car. He didn't know what had happened to them, almost overnight they all seemed scared, nervous, and jumpy. This vacation was a good idea, he thought to himself. As they started to leave, he turned to Kat and voiced something he'd wondered for years. "You know, I wonder what our lives would be like if Rita had never escaped. 

The car slammed on the brakes, and all four of them got out. As one, Aura, Adam, Billy, and Azure looked at him. 

"NO, YOU DON'T!"

**The End**


	40. Hawaii Amber

**Hawaii Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

It was nothing but a madhouse as Aura, Billy, Alex, Alaina, Azure, Adam, and Katia sorted through their baggage at the hotel. Aura sighed a little at her twin offspring. "Alex, Alaina, we need to unpack before you can go play!" 

Azure looked at her niece and nephew as they bounced on the bed in what would be Billy and Aura's room. "Remind you of something? Or should I say, someone?" 

"It is good to get away," Azure sighed, then quickly caught Alaina before the younger twin fell off the bed. "Woah there!" 

Aura sighed, smiling. "Alaina! Your middle name should be 'active' instead of 'Azure', girl!" 

"Sowwy," Alaina said, giving her mother a hurt puppy dog face she could have only learned from Adam. Aura smiled and hugged her daughter. 

"It's okay, Alaina. Mommy's not mad at you!" 

"Good!" Alaina hugged her, then ran off to play with her brother some more. Aura smiled at them, she had never imagined her life would be so happily full. 

"I wonder if we were that much trouble when we were kids," she wondered. 

"Mom and Dad would probably say yes!" Azure grinned very smally. Since their 'alternate' experience the day before, the four of them had felt closer than they ever had in their lives. They had all seen how much they needed the Rangers in their lives, and it had been unnerving, to say the least. Aura knew now her very life had depended on her being the Amber Ranger, as well as the life of the world. 

"Most likely," Aura said dryly as she finished unpacking. "Now, time for some serious vacationing!" she glanced around. "Where are those kids of ours? I saw the twins heading out." 

Adam entered the room. "They're in our room," he said, gesturing to the chamber he, Azure, and Katia would be in during their stay here. "They came in, started jumping, and then fell asleep!" 

Aura giggled. "We'd better get someone to watch them, if they're going to sleep!" she decided. The four adults were going to the beach, but wouldn't leave their slumbering children unguarded. 

"I'll call downstairs and see if the hotel can send up someone," Billy suggested. A phone call and five minutes later, a young woman appeared at their door. 

"I'm the baby-sitter, Jewel," she said. "You asked for someone to watch your kids?" 

Aura nodded. "Keep an eye on them, they can be active when they're awake!" _that's putting it mildly!_ As the baby-sitter settled in, Aura grabbed her things. "Okay, guys, let's go! I want to soak up a few rays!" she giggled, for some reason being here made her feel like a teenager again! 

Adam glanced at Azure, with a small grin. "You do have a bathing suit in there somewhere, don't you?" at her nod, he asked, "Now, are you going to wear it?" 

"Adam!" she was torn between laughing and smacking him. Adam put on his best innocent face and asked, "What?" 

Azure shook her head and headed for the elevator, muttering uncomplimentary things about her husband's gender as she did so. Aura nodded as she joined her. "Men," she chuckled. "Can't live with them. Don't want to live without him," she glanced at Billy. 

Billy smiled. "I wouldn't want to live without you, either." 

Aura couldn't help but shiver for a moment. "I've seen what it would be like without you, and I don't like it one bit!" 

Azure shook her head. "Let's go," was all she said. _Those two are inseparable. And insatiable!_   
  


* * *

  


On the beach, Azure leaned against a tree and watched Aura and Billy run up and down the shore. Azure sighed a little, not really reading the book in her hands. Adam spoke up from next to her. 

"Nice out here, isn't it?" Azure nodded absently, she hadn't really noticed. Adam considered putting an arm around her, then decided against it. "You look good in that," he said instead. 

"Adam!" Azure blushed a little. Adam insisted she did, and she sighed a little. She'd kept so much inside. . maybe it was time to let some of it out. 

"Azure, is there something you want to talk about?" he asked finally. Azure nodded. 

"A little, but not here," she glanced up to where Aura and Billy were playing like children in the waves. "Not where Aura can hear," she gestured down the beach. "There." 

They wandered down the beach, Azure finally coming to rest on a large rock where she could watch the tides come in. "It is beautiful here, isn't it?" 

"Yeah," Adam nodded. When Azure looked at him, he saw fear in her eyes. 

"We need to talk." 

A spear of panic impaled itself in his heart and stomach. "A. .about what?" he wondered. Azure waited before answering, waited until she could calm herself. 

"Us. Me mostly," she told him at last. "What happened to me while I was in that dream, and my attitude towards you recently." 

"What did happen?" Adam almost regretted asking that as the full tale of the dream spilled out at last. He was assaulted by every emotion, from joy to fear to anger to rage to laughter to nurturing love. Azure took a deep breath as her recitation came to an end. 

"The scary thing is, what Eric did to me in that dream, part of me liked it." 

Purest love filled his voice as he looked at her. "Oh, Azure. It wasn't real. . ." 

"I know," she nodded. "But it seemed too real! And it won't leave me alone," she glanced at him. "That's the main reason you've been sleeping on the couch. I couldn't face you with what was going on. I haven't had a decent night's sleep since that happened." 

"Azure," Adam whispered. "I wish I knew something to say." 

Azure shook her head lightly. "I don't expect you to." 

Adam almost took her hand, but knew somehow it was too soon, far too soon. "I love you, Azure. I think that spell they had you under, found the worst parts of what you are, the things you know could've been, but aren't, and made them worse, made them real." 

"And made me hurt you," Azure shivered a little, remembering. "That's the part that scared me the most, that and seeing that knife, in Billy's hands, going into Aura. It brought back painful memories," _memories about Eric. About what he did._ 

"It wasn't real," Adam insisted. "None of it was." 

Azure spat out, "It was the same knife! The knife that I threw into the lake, the knife that Eric used on me!" 

"Oh, man!" Adam's eyes were wide in shock. There was a look in Azure's own eyes, that spoke eloquently of the desire she had for wanting his arm around her. He knew she wouldn't make the first move, though. She was too scared right now. 

"Adam," she whispered. "I'm sorry for my behavior this past month." 

Adam nodded as he enfolded her into a warm hug. "I understand, Azure. You went through quite literally your worst nightmare." 

"And barely survived," Azure whispered. "I'm glad you found the cure." 

"So am I," Adam told her. "Oh, so am I!" he hugged her even tighter as she leaned against him. 

"I. . .oh, Adam," she whispered, tears sliding down her cheeks. 

"I love you, Azure."   
  


* * *

  


Billy looked up as Adam and Azure headed out. He smiled as he hugged Aura. "It's about time they talked." 

Aura nodded. "I'm glad for them." 

Billy sighed a little. "They're not the only ones. We need to talk. About what happened with what the Spirit showed us." 

Aura bit her lip, trembling. "Yeah." 

"Some of the things I saw. . .Aura, I don't know what she showed you, Adam, and Azure, but she showed me how you died in that timeline." 

Aura shivered as Billy continued. "The Spirit told me Eric killed me." 

Billy nodded. "He shot you, when he raped Azure. The first time, he had a gun." 

"That was true," Aura remembered. "But I moved out of the way before he could get the shot off." 

"Not this time," Billy held her close to him as Aura shook, remembering that first time. 

"It was being the Amber Ranger, wasn't it? And sort of 'knowing' one day that I'd be needed that helped me move so fast," Aura took a deep breath. "I saw you, Billy. . .you were a hacker." 

Billy sighed. "I know. What else did you see?" 

"Adam, a drunk," Aura whispered as she leaned against him. Billy raised an eyebrow in shock. 

"Adam? A drunk?" Aura explained quickly what the Spirit had told her. Billy sighed. "Man, who would have known that we needed the Rangers so much in our own lives?" 

"I don't know about you guys, but I saw what would have happened if I'd never come home from Kalakan." 

Billy shook his head lightly. "That we never saw. What would have happened?" 

It was a long few moments before Aura answered. "You. . you suicided. I saw the date on the tombstone, it was the day I did come back!" Billy looked down, and she took his hand. "What aren't you telling me?" 

Billy's pause was almost as long as her own. "I. . .almost did suicide. Adam interrupted me that day, and then you came back. But I couldn't bear to live without you." 

"Would you have gone through with it, if Adam hadn't interrupted you?" 

"I don't know," Billy said finally. "I like to think I wouldn't have. But I don't know." 

Aura sighed. "I didn't know you cared that much." 

"I do," Billy held her close to him, noticing she still shaking. "I love you more than anything." 

"I love you," she whispered in return. When she didn't' say anything for a time, he looked at her. 

"Aura? Anything else you want to talk to me about?" 

She didn't say anything else for a time. Finally, "I. . .I saw what would've happened to me." 

As Billy walked her to where Azure and Adam had sat before going down the beach, Aura began to tell him. "I. ..was married." 

"To who?" when she whispered the name, it was so low, he couldn't hear her. "Who?" 

"G. . .Galan," she finally said. Billy wrapped warm arms about her, comforting her to the best of his ability, 

"I'm glad you came back then." 

Aura nodded. "Me too. Because we were getting ready to invade Earth to. . .to kill you all." 

"From what you told me, it would have been too late for me," Billy observed. Aura stared at him for a second. 

"I was evil, Billy," she told him. "And I was going to have Galan's child!" she had never forgotten the mental agony of thinking Shaya was Galan's. 

"You didn't," Billy reassured her. "And you're here, in our timeframe. The only one that matters to us at the moment." 

Aura smiled a little and hugged him. "I know, and I'm glad, and I love you." 

As she gazed into his eyes, she barely noticed Azure and Adam walking back hand in hand. Azure's eyes were red and tear-streaked, but she was also smiling just a trifle. 

"Hey, guys," Aura said softly. "Azure, are you okay?" 

"I'll be fine," her sister replied softly. "Eventually." 

Aura smiled gently, as Adam looked up. "Let's head back to the hotel. It looks like it's going to storm." 

Gathering their things, they headed back to the hotel. Everything was all right now, they all felt, or would be soon. Nothing could spoil this vacation, nothing at all.   
  


* * *

  


"This is too easy!" Rita simply couldn't believe what she was seeing! 

"They've almost given those brats to us!" Vile agreed. Rita nodded. 

"Now we will have four heirs to the empire!" she declared. This was so much easier than having offspring of her own: just take it from someone else, and if that someone else happened to be a Power Ranger: so be it! 

"Yes! We will raise them to be even more evil and viscious than us!" 

Rita peered down at the hotel room. "And those Rangers can't do anything about it!" 

"No one can do anything about it!" Vile corrected her. Rita nodded, and raised her wand 

"Come, my Tenga! Bring them to me!" she declared, restoring the Tenga that had been disguised as the baby-sitter to its natural form. Oh, this was going to be far too easy!   
  


* * *

  


Alaina ran as fast as she could away from the big black bird the baby-sitter had turned into. The Tenga squawked as he chased her, "Come here you little. .. ." 

"Can't catch me!" Alaina giggled. This was a fun game! 

"I'm going to take you and your brother and sister on a fun trip!" the Tenga promised. Alaina shook her head, not slowing down in the least. 

"No! I want my mommy!" she declared. Alex looked up from where he was playing with the babies. 

"Where is Mommy?" he wondered. 

"Your mommy wanted me to watch you kids!" the Tenga tried to grab the swift-footed Alaina again. Alex shook his head in eerie imitation of his sister. 

"You're not Rocky!" 

The Tenga hissed, "He couldn't make it! He wanted to, though! Now come here!" he grabbed for the baby Shaya, knowing she couldn't get away!" 

Alex screamed and kicked at him as hard as he could. "Leave my sister alone!" 

"And what are you going to do about it, little boy?" the Tenga grabbed Alex by an arm as he struggled to get away. 

"Lemme go!" he whined. The Tenga shook his head. 

"Nope! There's a couple of people who want to see you kids!" he scooped up Katia in one wing, then looked around the room. "Now where's that last one at?" 

The Tenga prowled up and down the rooms, trying to find Alaina. Finally, after ten unsuccessful minutes, he shrugged his feathery shoulders. "Oh, I've got three! That'll do!" 

In a blaze of white light, the Tenga, Alex, Shaya, and Katia all vanished. Alaina, hiding under the bed in her parents' room, shuddered and cried. "Mommy. .." she whispered. "Mommy. . ."   
  


* * *

  


Azure was the first into their rooms, and her heart almost stopped when she saw black feathers everywhere. "Hello?" she looked around. "What happened here? Adam, Aura, Billy! Come here!" 

Aura joined her quickly. "What is. . what's with all the feathers?" 

"Where are the kids?" Azure's voice was the very essence of worry. "Alex? Alaina?" 

"Alaina! Alex!" Aura managed to keep her tears in. "Shaya! Katia!" 

A little head poked out from under the bed. "Mommy?" Alaina trembled. Aura nodded, coming down next to the bed. 

"Alaina, it's me!" 

Billy joined his wife. "Alaina, what happened? Where are your brother, sister, and cousin?" 

Alaina sniffled a little. "Baby-sitter turned into bird and took them!" 

Aura held her arms out to her daughter. "You can come out now, Alaina," she reassured her. As what Alaina said hit her, she stiffened. "Turned. .. .into what?" 

"Big black bird!" Alaina cried as she came out from under the bed. Aura took a deep breath, tears threatening to spill out. 

"A Tenga," she whispered. Azure, on the edge of the bed, looked ready to cry. 

"Why can't they leave us alone? Why take our kids?" she protested. Adam came over to hold her. 

"We'll get them back!" he had forgotten how many times he had spoken those words. 

Aura growled, "And I might know how." 

"How?" Azure looked up, hope in her eyes. 

"The Spirit of Earth. She is the ultimate mother, and no one messes with the mother of Earth itself!" 

Billy nodded. "Let's go." 

Azure sighed. "I'll stay here with Alaina." 

"I don't have to go anywhere!" Aura reminded them. "The Spirit is in me, remember. She's part of me." 

When the Spirit appeared, Aura ran straight to her. "Rita and Vile have kidnapped our children. Alaina was the only one they didn't get. Can you help us get them back?" 

"I will," the Spirit nodded. "But I will need to know where they are being held. It isn't on Earth." 

Aura nodded. "Maybe where I was?" 

Adam stood up. "Let's get to the Command Center, just to make sure." 

Azure shook her head as Adam looked at her. "I'll stay here with Alaina." 

They were all gone a moment later, leaving Azure and Alaina alone. Azure took a deep breath, then went to the closet and took a bag out. 

"Aunt Azure, you going somewhere?" Alaina asked, looking at her with liquid gray eyes. 

"Not yet," Azure shook her head. "But I will be." 

"Why?" 

Azure sat back down on the bed and looked at her. "It's hard to explain, but it's for the best." 

"Is it cause of the monsters?" 

Azure nodded. "It's part of it." 

"Uncle Adam loves you," Alaina told her. "Are you gonna leave him too?" 

Azure sighed. "I love him too. But sometimes, love just isn't enough." 

"Mommy says love saved her life," Alaina reflected. Azure nodded. 

"On more than one occasion," she remembered. "But it's not always the answer." 

"Do you love Uncle Adam?" 

Azure took Alaina's hands, crying. "Yes, I do!" 

"Then why are you gonna leave him?" 

"It's me," Azure admitted. "I can't do it anymore." 

"Do what?" 

Azure picked her up and set her on her knee. "There are things that happened to me, that I need time to face alone, without Uncle Adam." 

"Are you gonna come back?" 

Azure sighed. "I don't know. Alaina, I'm taking Katia with me." 

Alaina cried. "I like to play with Katia!" 

"Alaina, this isn't going to be easy on any of us. I'm sorry," Azure almost thought Alaina would be angry at her, but instead, the girl hugged her hard. 

"I love you, Aunt Azure!" 

Azure whispered softly, "I love you, too," she returned the hug. "I hope Adam will forgive me for this."   
  


* * *

  


Aura and Billy worked together to pinpoint their offspring's' location, while Adam paced back and forth in he little worn area of the Command Center. Rocky muttered to himself, "If they even hurt those kids. .. " 

Aura turned to him. "Then none of us have to worry ever again about fighting them! I'll see to that!" 

"We'd better find them," Kat murmured. Adam looked from face to face, worried in the extreme, then jerked up as Aura shouted. 

"Found them! I was right, they're where I was!" 

The Spirit nodded. "I will go get them," she was gone a moment before Aura could utter her thanks. She fell into Billy's arms, wanting him to hold her. _Bring our children home, my other half! Please!_   
  


* * *

  


Rita looked at Katia, who was crying in her arms. She realized suddenly why she hated kids so much: they were noisy! She looked at her father, who had a tight grip on Alex's arm, and almost asked why they had done this again. 

"Remind me again why we wanted these brats, Rita?" Vile groaned as Alex delivered a powerful kick to his shins. 

"What?" Rita groaned at Katia's wailing cries. They were both startled, and a trifle relieved, when the Spirit of Earth appeared in all her furious glory. 

"You dare to abduct these innocent children! Is there no depth to which you will not sink?" she roared. 

Vile replied, "NO!" _Oh, good, she's going to get these terrors away from us! This Amber brat won't stop kicking me, and the babies just scream! This was a bad idea to start with! But we must keep up appearances!_ 

"I wanna go home!" Alex wailed as he held his youngest sister tightly. The Spirit strode over and removed Katia from Rita's arms. 

"And I shall take you home," the Spirit told her as Alex joined her. "Your family is worried about you, young man! It's time to go home," she glared at Vile and Rita. "Your time will come!" she promised. 

Rita hissed, "So will yours!" as the Spirit vanished, taking the kids with her. Rita leaned against her father briefly. "I am so glad they're gone!"   
  


* * *

  


Adam did his usual pacing back and forth, wanting his kid back. He didn't know how Billy and Aura could be so calm! Suddenly, the tension was gone as the Spirit appeared with the kids in tow. 

"Katia!" he took his daughter from her. "Oh, Katia!" 

"Where Alaina?" Alex wanted to know as he joined his parents. Aura smiled as she hugged him. 

"She's with Aunt Azure," she told him, then looked up at Adam and Billy. "Come on, guys, let's go tell Azure everything's okay." 

"Guys, before you go," Rocky interrupted suddenly. He was holding Kat's hand, and there was a light in both their eyes, more than just their love for each other. 

"What is it?" Aura wondered. Her eyes widened suddenly as she took her first good look at Kat in weeks. _Could it be?_ 

"There's something we need to tell you," Kat continued. Rocky nodded. 

"We're expecting!" Everyone's mouth dropped open at that! Then, each of them started to congratulate the happy couple. Adam asked, "How far along are you, Kat?" 

"About four months or so," Kat told them. Adam smiled and patted Rocky on the back congratulatory. 

"You sly dog!" he laughed. He had never really doubted that Rocky would be a father, and a great one, one day! 

"I wanna go to sleep," Alex whined a little. He didn't care one bit about what was going on with his baby-sitter and his baby-sitter's girlfriend. Aura smiled. 

"We'll go pick up your sister, then you can go straight to bed!" she promised him. Alex was one kid who didn't mind going for naps. . .most of the time!   
  


* * *

  


"We're back!" Azure looked up as Aura and the others appeared. "We got them back!" 

Azure ran over and took Katia from Adam. "Oh, Katia! Mommy missed you!" she gazed lovingly into her daughter's eyes. 

Alaina looked from her brother and sister to her aunt. "Aunt Azure leaving now?" she looked a little sad. Adam's eyes widened. 

"Leave?" 

Azure sighed as she threw a glance to her niece. "We need to talk," she said softly. "Alone." 

"Yeah, I think we do!" Adam wanted to know what this talk of leaving was all about!" 

They went into their room, where Adam's eyes flew wide at the sight of her packed suitcases. "Azure. .you. .you're leaving me?" he stuttered. 

"For now," she couldn't look at him. 

"For how long?" 

Azure sighed deeply. "I don't know. I wish I could tell you," the next part was the hardest. "I want to take Katia with me." 

"Why?" Adam did not believe what she was telling him. Quietly she told him what she had said to Alaina, that she needed time to think, time to decide if this really was what she wanted in her life. Adam stared at the ceiling in shock. "Azure. . I. ..I don't know what to say." 

"Understand my reasons," Azure begged him. "Rita and Vile taking Katia was my breaking point. I don't want her in that kind of danger. That's why I want her to come with me." 

"Where will you go?" 

Azure shook her head. "I don't know. We're leaving tomorrow morning. When you get back to Angel Grove, my stuff, most of it anyway, will be gone." 

Adam sat on the bed, his head din his hands. "Azure. . ." 

"Adam, please understand," she whispered. She hoped he wouldn't try and stop her from going, but knew he would at least try and convince her not to. 

"Please, don't go, Azure!" he begged, tears in his eyes. "I can help, we can do something, maybe Billy can find a way so they can't ever find you and her, I'll ask him to start working on it!" 

Azure shook her head. "No, it's not going to work. I'm sorry," it was all she could do not to cry herself. 

"Please, Azure," he wept openly. " Please stay . You're everything tome, you and Katia!" 

Azure touched his face gently. "You will survive. Adam, IH have to do this, if not for my own sanity, but to save us from a terrible fate." 

Adam touched her cheek. "Azure, I will always love you forever." 

"I know," she held his hand lightly. "But I'm still leaving," he kissed her, which she returned gently, then pulled away. "Our plane leaves at eight tomorrow morning. I'll be gone before you get up." 

Adam nodded brokenly, looking as if all the life had drained out of him already. Azure ran from the room, crying, and locked herself in the bathroom, crying with all her heart.   
  


* * *

  


"Azure?" Aura knocked on the bathroom door a few moments later. 

"Go away!" 

Aura growled, "I am not going away! What's going on?" 

Azure slowly unlocked the door, then returned to the corner and cried some more. She had never imagined she had so many years in her. Aura closed the door behind her. "Azure, what's wrong?" 

"He hates me. . .," her sister whispered. "Adam hates me now." 

"What?" Aura wasn't believing that. "No way!" 

"It's all my fault too!" 

Aura sighed. "Talk to me, Azure, please!" Aura wanted to hear the full story. "What's going on?" 

Azure looked at her sister with tear-streaked face and tear-filled eyes. "I'm leaving." 

"Permanently?" 

"I don't know." 

Aura nodded, her logical side coming to the fore. "And you think that made him hate you?" 

"I'm taking Katia with me." 

Aura raised an eyebrow. "I see. But I still don't think that would make him hate you!" 

Azure shook her head. "Aura, you don't know what it's been like this past month!" 

"Then tell me!" 

Her sister did. "Adam's' spent most of it sleeping on the couch. I've shut him out, everything turns into an argument!" 

Aura closed her eyes, and though. "Do you love him?" she asked finally. Azure considered for a long moment. Finally, she replied. 

"Yes." 

"Are you leaving to just get your head on straight about all this?" 

"Among other things," Azure nodded. 

"To decide if staying with him and loving him, is worth all that comes with it." 

"And for Katia's safety," Azure said just as Aura added, "And you want Katia to be safe, that's why you're taking her." 

Azure looked at her sister, smiling a little at their mutual speech. "How did you manage those two months you left? Being away from them?" 

"It wasn't easy," Aura sighed. "I missed them all so much." 

"I'll miss you so much." 

Aura smiled and touched her sister's arm. "How can you miss me? I'm a part of you, remember?" 

"I remember," Azure smiled. Aura nodded and continued talking al little sense into her sister. 

"Adam doesn't hate you, Azure. He never could, anymore than you could hate him." 

"I did once," Azure mumbled. Aura knew at once what that meant. 

"When everyone thought I was dead?" 

Azure agreed. "I hated them all, even before I knew about Kalakan's exploding. I hated them for driving you away from me." 

Aura spoke logically. "Did you hate them, or what you thought they'd done to me?" 

"I. . .," Azure paused for a moment. "I don't know." 

"Maybe that's something else you should figure out," Aura suggested. Azure nodded and stood up. 

"I will. I guess I should go get comfortable on the couch," _and I'm not looking forward to that, either!_ 

Aura smiled and shook her head. "Maybe you should go to your room, and spend one last night with your husband before you go." 

Azure smiled, and went back to the room she'd shared with Adam. "Adam?" she said softly. He had been crying on the bed. "Mind if I come in?" 

Adam looked up. "A. . .Azure?" she sat on the bed carefully, looking at him. "Are you still going?" 

"I have to," she said without looking at him. 

"I won't stop you," he said finally. "But I'll be waiting every minute for you to come back." 

"I want to know," Azure smiled. "Deep down, that you are enjoying your life while I'm gone. Don't do what Billy did when Aura was gone. Have fun." 

Adam sighed. "I'll do what I can, but I'll still miss you." 

"As I will miss you," Azure slipped into a nightgown and into the bed next to him. 

"I love you, Azure," he whispered, holding her tightly. She kissed him with more passion and love and sorrow than he had ever dreamed possible. 

"I love you, Adam."   
  


* * *

  


They were all up early, despite what Azure had originally thought, to see her off. "I'm going to miss you, you know that," Adam told her. 

"I'll miss you too," Azure nodded. "We both will." 

Adam kissed his daughter. "I love you both, but I really do understand you need some time away." 

Azure smiled, then looked to her sister. "I know. Aura, make sure he gets out of the house more than Billy did while you were gone!" 

"I will!" Aura nodded. "If I have to drag him out!" 

A moment later, her flight was announced. "I'll see you all when I get back!" she told them. "I'll try to call, but I'm not promising!" 

Adam hugged her warmly. "I love you, Azure." 

Azure returned the embrace as final boarding was called. "I gotta go! I love you, Adam!" she said as she started towards the plane, tears in her eyes. Aura looked after her. 

"I'm going to miss her! But she needs time away!" 

Adam nodded. "I know." Aura placed a hand on his shoulder gently. 

"Come on," she said. "Let's go back to the hotel. We still have a while left on our vacation. Let's enjoy it while we can." 

Adam nodded, then looked to where the plane was taxiing off. "I'll miss you, Azure Park. Hurry home."

**The End**


	41. Past Amber

**Past Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

Billy quietly slipped Shaya into bed. Aura's parents were staying the night at their place, to take care of the kids while Aura and Billy recovered from the trip. "Now, to unpack," he said softly as he entered their bedroom. 

Aura sighed from where she was starting to unpack. "I miss her already." 

"I know," Mrs. Robinson nodded as she entered the room, Alaina on her arm. The younger twin was a living bundle of energy at times, it seemed! "But she'll be back," she glanced at her granddaughter. "Why don't I take you outside, and you can tell grandma all about your trip?" 

Alaina nodded eagerly. "Mommy, when we can we go see the nice ghost lady again?" 

"Sometime this weekend," Aura told her. _Ghost lady? I wonder if the Spirit of Earth knows that's what Alaina calls her?_ 

"They met her already?" Mrs. Robinson chuckled a little. "I thought you were waiting until they turned five," she knew Aura would know she was joking. "Come on, catch me up on everything," she told Alaina as they headed out the door. 

Aura started to pull thing out of her suitcase. "Man, I wish I'd known about the Spirit growing up like those three are going to." 

"It would've made life interesting," Billy admitted. Aura nodded. 

"And a lot less complicated in some areas," she admitted. Something fell out of her bag as she unpacked. "Hey, what's this?" 

Billy glanced down. "I don't know. . .it looks like. . .," his eyes widened. "Azure's communicator?" 

Aura picked it up. "It is. And she left a note," she read the note quickly, then handed it to Billy, barely able to control herself. He groaned as he read. 

"Man," he sighed. "We need to show this to Adam." 

Aura nodded as she looked at the last line of the note again. "I hope to see you again," she whispered it to herself as they started to the Youth Center; Adam had said he was going there once he unpacked. _You will see us again, Azure. I know it. But when?_   
  


* * *

  


It hadn't taken Adam long to unpack, objectively, but it seemed as if it had already been an eternity since Hawaii. He walked into the Juice Bar and took a seat at the counter, not even noticing the other Rangers at their usual table. It took Rocky sitting next to him before he realized he wasn't alone there. 

"So, how are you doing?" Rocky wondered. He hadn't known any of them were back from their trip yet! 

"She's gone," Adam shook his head. _How am I doing? I'm dying inside, that's how I'm doing!_ 

"What?" Rocky didn't know what his oldest friend was talking about! 

"She's gone, they're both gone!" Adam moaned. Rocky took a deep breath. 

"Use names, please, Adam," it had always been hard to get Adam to focus on something when he was upset, and this was the most upset he obviously ever been. 

"Azure and Katia." 

The earth fell away from under Rocky. What in the world was going on? "Oh, man. .. why? Where'd they go?" 

"Azure left," Adam whispered. "And took Katia. I don't know where they went, I don't know when they'll be back, all I know is that until they do, I'm going to be depressed!" 

Rocky shook his head sharply. "No you're not! I know Azure, and she wouldn't want you to be depressed!" 

"How am I supposed to be, then? My wife left me, took my kid, and I don't even know where they are!" 

Rocky retorted, "And how is she going to feel when she comes back, and you're in a drunken stupor of depression?" 

Adam sighed. "You've got a point." 

"She'll be back," Rocky reassured him as Aura and Billy entered the Juice Bar. Aura headed straight over to Adam, worry in her gray eyes. 

"Adam?" she said softly. "I found Azure's communicator in my luggage, and this." she handed him a note. As Adam read it, tears poured forth once again. 

"This isn't happening," he whispered. "This isn't happening. Aura, please tell me this is just a cruel joke!" 

Aura shook her head. "Adam, you know me better than that!" 

Adam stared, sliding off his stool and landing on the floor. "She's gone then. . ." 

"Adam, she'll be back!" Aura jerked him to his feet and almost hissed it. The one thing she had never been able to stand was people giving up. 

"Will she?" Adam moaned. "You read that last line!" 

Tommy and the others had joined them by now. "What's going on?" the White Ranger wondered. 

"Look, if it'll make you feel better, I know a way to keep track of her, or at least make sure she's all right!" Aura insisted. Adam stared at her for a moment, then stormed out, eyes full of tears. Aura stared after him, then muttered a few nasty words under her breath. 

"What's his problem?" Kim wondered. "What's going on?" 

Aura sighed. "Azure took Katia and left for a while. She stuck her communicator in my luggage, and left this note." 

"Man," Zack murmured. "Want me to talk to him?" 

"Someone needs to!" 

Aisha nodded. "I'll do it, I've known Adam the longest," before anyone could say anything, she was out the door on Adam's heels. _I hope she can do something,_ Aura thought. _I hate not being able to help, but Adam just won't listen to me!_   
  


* * *

  


Adam stormed through the park, sad and angry all at the same time. Sad for Azure had left him, angry that Aura wouldn't admit she might not come back. A soft voice called him back to reality. "Adam?" 

He turned to see Aisha there. "What?" 

"I refuse to let you go off into being depressed, Adam! She loves you, and she'll be back!" 

"Like there's a whole lot you can do," Adam grumped. "How can you be so certain about her coming back? I love her, and I know she loves me, but with Rita and Vile out there, I'm not so sure I'll ever see my wife again." 

Aisha sighed. "I know." 

"Aisha," Adam stared up at the cloudless sky. "What am I going to do without her? Without them both?" 

"You'll find something," Aisha urged him as they started walking. 

Adam sighed. "There are times when I wish I could just walk away from being a Ranger. No second guessing myself if it was the right thing or not, if saving my marriage is more important than saving the world." 

"I know," Aisha sighed. "I mean, I'm not married, but I know what you mean." 

Adam was about to say something else, when they heard murmuring voices coming from behind a thicket of trees ahead of them. Adam frowned. "What's that?" 

He peered briefly through the trees, and his eyes widened in shock. "Man," he whispered as Aisha joined him. 

"What is it?" she wondered. He mouthed softly, "Rita and Vile."   
  


* * *

  


Rita glared at her father, this plan was definitely different! But she still had her doubts. "You think it'll work?" 

"You kept saying it was her love that broke her free all those times. If she doesn't love them, then she won't break free!" Vile had considered this, and it seemed the most logical course of action to him. Rita shrugged. 

"Then we do it while she still lived in Angel Grove. Before that stupid stepson of mine did that to her brat sister, that just made them closer!" she declared. Vile nodded. 

"Then let's do it!" her father laughed. "And this time, no Power Rangers to stop us, because they'll all be children too!" 

He raised his staff and swung it around his head in a full circle. Silvery light burst from the tip to surround a twenty square yard area. With no more than that, the two beings of evil headed for the past.   
  


* * *

  


Aisha looked around as she and Adam were swept up in some force they couldn't define. "Oh, man, what happened?" she asked. Before Adam had the chance to answer, a childish voice spoke up, one he knew as well as he knew his own name. 

"Hey!" he peered through the trees to see Azure: at a mere five years old, sticking her tongue out at an equally young Zack. Aisha looked, her eyes widening in shock. 

"T. .they're kids!" 

"Oh, man, what happened?" Adam wondered. Aisha shook her head. 

"I don't know," she stared at Zack, biting her lip delicately. _Even at this age, he's cute!_ Adam's voice pulled her back to reality. 

"We'd better see if we can teleport, maybe Zordon can help us," he suggested. She nodded and hit her communicator. They had to find out what was going on.   
  


* * *

  


As they appeared in the Command Center, the first thing they noticed was Zordon's booming voice. WHO ARE YOU? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? 

Adam was quick to speak up. "We're from the future. I am Adam, the Black Ranger, and this is Aisha, the Yellow Ranger." 

FROM THE FUTURE? WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THIS TIME, THEN? 

Adam shrugged. "We don't know. But we have a feeling that we're needed here, to save a future Ranger." 

I WILL NOT ASK WHICH; IT COULD CAUSE DAMAGE TO THE TIMESTREAM, Zordon mused. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT SORT OF DANGER THIS FUTURE RANGER IS IN? 

"Something to make them stop caring. If they do, it could spell trouble," Aisha told him. Zordon looked them over. 

WHO IS DOING THIS? 

"Rita Repulsa and Master Vile," Aisha reported. Zordon frowned. 

THIS IS NOT GOOD. ANY SPELL THAT THEY ARE SUCCESSFUL IN CASTING WILL NTO BE EASY TO BREAK. WE MUST TRY AND MAKE SURE THEY DO NOT SUCCEED. 

Adam nodded. "That's why we came here." 

"We'll have to keep an eye on our friend," Aisha turned to the Viewing Globe. This wasn't going to be a fun trip to the past, she figured.   
  


* * *

  


Rita and Vile stared at the little group of kids playing. Their target, Aura, was playing with Billy. Rita whispered, "We need to get her away from him!" 

Vile was focusing on Billy and Aura still. "It's sickening, to think those two are going to breed!" 

Rita shivered, then an idea hit her out of the blue. "What if we disguised ourselves as her parents?" 

"Excellent!" Vile laughed. "She's so trusting, she'll come right along with us!" 

Rita nodded. "Especially when we tell her that her sister is sick!" with a wave of her wand, Mr. and Mrs. Robinson stood there. They walked out towards the playground. 

"Four-eyes!" Aura teased Billy; they both knew she didn't mean anything by it at all. She was the only person who didn't mean it when she teased him, except for her sister Azure. 

"Aura!" she looked up to see her parents coming towards her. 

"Mommy! Daddy!" she ran over to them happily. 

"Time to go home," her 'mother' told her. "Your sister isn't feeling well." 

Aura frowned. "What's wrong with Azure?" 

"We're going to find out," she was told, as she took the extended hand. 

"All right," Aura glanced back at Billy. "I'll see you later?" 

"Okay!" Billy waved. "Hope Azure feels better!" 

Aura nodded. "Me too! I don't' want her to be sick!" 

"None of us do," Mr. Robinson said. _OH, I can't believe this, she's actually falling for it!_ "Come on." 

"Is Azure at home?" Aura asked as she bounced along between her parents. "She didn't have to go to the doctor, did she?" 

"She's at her friend's house," Mrs. Robinson replied. "Her mother called and told us." 

"Oh, she's at Trini's house?" Aura asked. They were out of sight of the others now, and Rita and Vile no longer needed their disguise, which melted away like snow. 

Aura screamed in fright at the two horrors now holding tightly by the arms. "Who are you? You're not my mommy and daddy!" 

Rita growled, "You will be quiet!" _I hate noisy brats! Especially ones that are going to grow up to be Power Rangers!_ 

Aura started screaming for help at the top of her lungs, until with a wave of her wand, Rita silenced her. Wide-eyed and afraid, the six year old Amber Ranger-to-be stared as the sorceress began to cast her spell. 

Long moments passed, and Aura went very still, the light of friendliness fading from her eyes. Vile laughed. "It's working!" almost as soon as he said, that, Aura went limp. All the warmth had vanished from face entirely. 

"Oh, this is perfect!" Rita laughed as she dropped the tiny girl to the ground. "Let's go! Our work here is done!" 

Vile rubbed his hands together wickedly. "I wonder what the world will be like when we get back? Better, at least. . for us!" 

"Much better!" Rita agreed. With one wave of her staff, they were back to the future.   
  


* * *

  


As they appeared in the future they had made, or perhaps remade, Vile glanced around to see they had arrived in the Lunar Palace: which was standing! "A definite improvement since the last time I was here!" 

Rita had never been so happy to see this place! "I wonder. ..," she mused, then headed into the main throne room. There on his throne was Zedd! "Zeddy!" 

"Rita!" he turned to look at her. "Where have you been?" 

"With father," she told him, coming over. She was actually glad to see the skinless creature she'd married! "He's come for a visit!" 

Vile followed her in. "Hello, Lord Zedd! So how goes the domination of Earth?" _I certainly hope we succeeded in altering history!_ 

"Only a few places left to conquer, and it's all ours!" Zedd laughed heartlessly. Vile smiled. 

"What of the Rangers?" 

Zedd shrugged. "Oh, they try to stop me, but they're no match for my Ranger!" there was actual pride in his voice! 

"Your Ranger?" Vile wondered. A cold, icy voice spoke up from behind them. 

"Me, of course." 

Rita and Vile both turned to see Aura coming up behind them. She bowed to Zedd, then went to stand in front of his throne. "I engaged the Rangers in battle again today, my lord," she reported, smiling nastily. "The White Ranger is dead now." 

Rita laughed, the future they had made was wonderful! "This is perfect!" 

"My Amber Ranger is the perfect warrior!" Zedd laughed. Goldar, who had been standing on the other side of Zedd, nodded. 

"That she is, and then some!" Rita had never seen him look at Aura quite like that before! She bit her lip, surely that couldn't be. . .. 

"Thank you, Goldar," Aura bowed a little to him, it was evident he was her superior officer. He nodded and came towards her. 

"Come, we have plans to make!" 

Aura laughed wickedly. "Yes, plans to finish off the Rangers!" 

Zedd watched them go, almost smiling. "Those two," he muttered. 

"Those two what?" Vile wanted to know. Zedd laughed. 

"Once we've destroyed the Rangers, they're going to be getting married!" 

Vile couldn't believe his ears, but he did like what he'd heard! "They're a perfect match!" 

Oh, yes, he loved this new future!   
  


* * *

  


Adam slammed his fist into the console at the Command Center as the scans came back in. "They got her!" _Aura doesn't care anymore! That means in the future, her love for Azure and Billy wont' help to break Zedd's spell over her! I don't even want to think over what THAT could do to history!_ 

"We're too late!" Aisha growled. 

"Not unless there's a way to break it!" Adam looked up suddenly. Aisha shrugged. 

"Vile's spells aren't easy to break," she said. "But there must be a way!" 

Adam nodded. "We have to, but not reveal who we are," _we can't risk any of them recognizing us!_ "What if we disguised ourselves as someone they could trust? Get her confidence, and try to break it that way?" 

Aisha thought for a moment. "A couple of police offers. Kids trust cops!" 

"You wouldn't be able to disguise us, now would you?" Adam glanced to Alpha and Zordon. The little robot whirled around the Command Center in a style that it looked like would never change. 

"I think I can find something, ay-yi-yi!" 

Adam nodded. "Thanks," Alpha came up a few minutes later with two perfectly fitted Angel Grove PD uniforms. 

"Thanks, Alpha, Zordon," Aisha told them. "I wish we could tell you more, but we just don't dare!" 

I UNDERSTAND, Zordon nodded. AND YOU COMING HERE TO THIS TIME SHOWS ME THAT I DID MAKE A WISE CHOICE IN RANGERS. 

As soon as Aisha had her disguise on, she glanced to Adam. "Okay, Adam, we've got a friend to save!" 

Adam settled his hat on his head. "Let's do it, Officer Campbell!" 

"Let's go, Officer Park!"   
  


* * *

  


Azure Robinson was happily doing flips in the park, just a little ways away from her friends. She hadn't noticed her 'parents' leaving with Aura, and Billy was looking at her rather oddly when her sister joined them suddenly. 

"Hey there!" Billy smiled at his friend, who glared at him icily. 

"Go away!" she snapped harshly. Billy stared at her for a moment, then shrugged. 

"Okay," He started to walk away, only to land flat on his face when Aura tripped him. 

"Four-eyed geek!" she laughed meanly at him and Azure stared at her. She'd never seen Aura like this! 

"Aura?" she asked. "Why'd you trip Billy?" 

Aura snarled, "Keep out of this, brat!" all she wanted to do was hurt people, and it felt so good to be so bad! 

"What?" Aura had never spoken harshly to her, not one single word! Billy got back to his feet and looked at his friend. 

"What is with you, Aura?" he asked. "What have I done to perturb you?" 

Aura knocked him back down. "I didn't say you could get up!" she told him. Azure looked around, then ran to the two cops she saw coming towards them. 

"Sir," she said to the male cop. "Can you help me?" 

"A. . .," Adam just barely prevented himself from calling her by her name. "What's wrong?" 

"My sister and our friend, they're fighting!" she pointed over to where Aura had just pushed Billy down into the dirt again. Adam frowned a little, he'd seen Aura evil, but he'd never seen her just being a bully! 

"We'll go talk to her," Adam said, heading over there. Azure thanked him and went with them, wanting to be sure Billy was all right. Aura was laughing and teasing her friend as they reached him, and her teasing was not the usual way she'd done it. It was almost as if those two bullies Bulk and Skull had been giving her lessons! 

"Excuse me," Adam said. Aura was having too much fun pushing Billy down over and over again. 

"What is it?" she asked. 

"I think we need a little talk!" Aura looked up to see someone in a uniform there. She sighed; what did this adult want??? 

"Oh, all right," she groaned as she was ushered a few feet away from them. He looked harshly at her. 

"Why are you picking on your friend?" 

Aura snorted. "Cause he's a wimp!" 

The officer shook his head. "Why is he a wimp? Cause he's a little different than you?" _Well, actually, a lot different! But you can't know what you are just yet. We're supposed to be fixing history, not changing it!_ 

"No!" Aura shook her head. "He. .he just is!" 

"You know," Adam said thoughtfully. "People used to call me a wimp." 

Aura looked up at him; how could anyone have though he was a wimp? "You?" 

Adam nodded. "Yeah, me!" 

Aura shook her head. "But. .. you're a police officer! They're not wimps!" 

"And neither is your friend," Adam told her. Aura smiled, nodding a little. The spell that had frozen her heart faded with the strength of sense and love. 

"I. ..I guess not," she murmured. She trembled a little, remembering the monsters that had made her so mean. 

"What is it?" the officer asked quickly. Aura described the monster she'd seen quickly, and he nodded slowly. _Rita and Vile. Hope she's not scarred for life with this!_ "Yeah, those are monsters. I don't think they'll be bothering you for some time." 

Aura shuddered. "I hope not. They scared me." 

"If they do," Adam promised, "They've got two officers to contend with, remember that!" 

"I hope they don't bother Azure or Billy," Aura sighed. "I don't want either of them hurt. 

_The old Aura is back!_ "Want me to walk you and your friends home?" 

"Please, Officer. ..what is your name, sir?" 

"Officer Park," Adam told her. "My partner is Officer Campbell." 

"Thank you, Officer Park," Aura gave him a quick hug, which he returned. It was strange looking at her, and seeing in the childish features the face of his future friend. They went back to the others. 

"We got everything settled," Adam told them. "Something you want to say to your friend?" he glanced to Aura. 

"I'm sorry, Billy," she said softly. He nodded and smiled. 

"It's all right." 

She hugged him quickly and smiled. "You're my best friend, Billy! I don't know why I said all those things!" 

Aisha whispered to Adam, "Kind of funny knowing what they're going to be to each other." 

"I wonder if they'll even remember this?" he wondered in return. Azure glanced over at Azure as she thanked him. "You're welcome. Come on, let's get you home!" 

The walk was quick, and it was all Adam could do not to talk to Azure the whole time. His eyes never left her, though. Once they were there, Adam told them, "We've got to get going now. We'll see you around!" 

The kids waved and went into their respective houses, as Adam and Aisha went out of sight and teleported back to the Command Center. They'd set things right.   
  


* * *

  


"Thanks for the use of the disguises," Adam told them. "It worked wonders! That Ranger is back to their old self!" 

WELL DONE, MY FUTURE FRIENDS, Zordon told them approvingly. 

Adam nodded. "It's time for us to return." 

WE WILL SEE YOU IN THE FUTURE THEN, Zordon smiled a little. It was nice to know they were going to make such fine Rangers. 

Adam smiled a little bit. "I look forward to it, Zordon. Let's go, Aisha." Alpha punched a few buttons, and shifted them forward in time. Whatever Rita and Vile had hoped for, was going to be gone now that Aura was back to normal.   
  


* * *

  


In the lunar palace, Rita's eyes went with shock as Zedd vanished, Aura vanished, and the entire palace turned to rubble around them. "What's going on?" she wailed. 

"What is this?" Vile was no more pleased than she was! 

"Those Rangers!" Rita screeched. "They must have somehow returned Aura to her normal caring self!" 

Vile turned his attention to Earth and growled. "How sick!" Aura and Billy were kissing!" 

Rita looked, and she saw something that made her much happier: Adam was moping in a corner. "At least one Ranger isn't happy! Now if we can just keep Azure away!" 

Vile laughed. "Let's just kill Adam! If we do that, even if she comes back, there's one less Ranger, period!" 

"Yes!" Rita howled, as she and her father laughed hideously together. Such an evil pair they made!   
  


* * *

  


Billy held his wife lovingly, staring into her eyes as she stared back. It was a glorious day in the park, just the two of them. "I love you so much, Billy," she whispered. 

"You know. ..I was thinking about something," Billy murmured. "Actually, more like two people." 

"Who?" Aura's thoughts were not on the past at the moment. 

"Remember a time when you and I got into a fight, and Azure brought these two officers over?" he remembered. 

Aura nodded. "That was a long time. .. ," she went pale as the memory she'd suppressed for years returned in full force. 

"What is it?" Billy asking, holding her tightly. 

"R. .Rita and Vile. . .I remember," she whispered, shaking badly. 

"What about Rita and Vile?" Billy couldn't remember seeing her this shaken up in a while. "What's going on?" 

Adam and Aisha joined them as Billy tried to get some answers out of her. Aura looked at them, eyes widening in shock. "It was you two!" 

"What?" Adam tried to be confused. 

"Aura, you're making no sense right now!" Billy protested. Aura took a deep breath. 

"Billy, what you said. The two cops who stopped us from fighting. It was Adam and Aisha, or someone who looked just like them! And the reason I was fighting you, was Rita and Vile!" 

Adam managed to hide a smile. "She's right, it was us." 

Aura closed her eyes, shaking in memory. "They did something to me. I didn't care about anyone or anything!" 

"Somehow, we got caught in their little timetravel thingie," Aisha explained. "And we broke. . .well, Adam broke, the spell they placed on Aura." 

Aura smiled and gave Adam a hug. He was almost amazed at how much her strength had increased over the intervening years. "Thanks, Officer Park." 

Adam sighed. "No problem. It was weird seeing Azure again. Even if it was when she was five years old." 

He glanced towards the lake, glittering in the golden sunlight. Without even noticing it, his feet took him there, while his mind remembered the countless times he and Azure had been there together. Behind him, Aura sighed. 

"He'll be okay. I hope." 

**The End**


	42. Final Amber

**Final Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

Azure Robinson Park opened the door to her apartment and looked around. "Adam?" she called out. When no answer came in return, she shoved her suitcase in the closet, and headed for the phone. 

"Hello?" Aura's voice was very welcome in Azure's ear at that moment. She chuckled a bit. 

"Guess who's back!" 

"Azure!" Aura had never sounded happier, to Azure's knowledge. 

"Right on the first guess!" Azure laughed merrily. "I've missed you, Aura!" 

Aura replied, "And I've missed you. But not as much as Adam has!" 

Azure smiled, several things had come clear to her while she was gone. "And I've missed him the most of all. Especially this past week! Aunt Kate sends her love, by the way." 

"Glad to hear it," Aura smiled. She loved her sister so much. "How's Katia?" 

"Oh, she's fine," Azure told her. "I dropped her off at Mom and Dad's before I came home; I've got some plans for me and Adam tonight," she chuckled a little. "You know, I think we may need a bigger apartment soon," Azure mentioned as she wandered around the house, phone in hand. 

"What's that?" 

"Nothing," Azure said innocently, hoping Aura took the hint. "Just commenting." 

Aura chuckled. "Azure, you're pregnant?" 

"Three months to the date!" Azure had known her sister for years, and she had known Aura would be able to figure out what she was saying. "I'm glad you talked me into spending that last night with Adam!" 

Aura giggled. "I know he'll be glad too!" 

"Speaking of that husband of mine, where is he?" Azure wondered. She was a little surprised to see he wasn't moping around the house, surprised and glad both. 

"Helping out Rocky with the kids," Aura told her. They would probably be back later in the day, she continued. 

Azure grinned, some things never changed. "Ah, Rocky's baby-sitting again?" 

"Yeah, it's good practice for him," Aura nodded half to herself, half to the voice on the other end of the phone. 

"If and when he had a kid of his own," Azure replied. _Wonder if he and Kat have stayed together. They're really in love._ She almost didn't hear the next sentence Aura said. 

"Yeah, the next three months are going to go by awfully fast for him and Kat," the Amber Ranger spoke almost absently. 

"Aura?" Azure snapped. "Is there something I should know?" 

Aura laughed at herself. "Oh, that's right, you don't know! Kat's pregnant!" 

"Oh, man!" Azure smiled, this was great news! "I'm going to head over there, not just to see my husband, but to offer congratulations. If any of the Rangers call, don't tell them I'm back, I want it to be a surprise." 

"It's a deal," Aura giggled a little. Azure almost frowned, Aura seemed just a little too happy over something. 

"I'll see you tonight? Unless there is something else you want to tell me?" 

Aura laughed. "See you tonight!" 

"Aura? What aren't you telling me?" Azure was starting to wonder a few things now! 

"Nothing, nothing at all!" Aura said sweetly. Azure chuckled, she knew that tone in her sister's voice. 

"I bet. I'll see you later! Bye!" as they hung up, Azure smiled happily. She'd made her choice, she was staying here with Adam, where she belonged. Where she loved, and was loved. "This is perfect," she sighed. "Nothing can ruin this day."   
  


* * *

  


"She's back?" Rita raged, not wanting to believe her eyes. How could this be happening?' 

"Oh, great!" Vile muttered. Couldn't these girls ever be kept down? What would it take to destroy them? "And she's pregnant!" 

Rita stiffened suddenly. "This could be better than imagined," she smiled. Vile nodded, if Rita had a plan, he wanted to hear about it! 

"She'll be easy prey!" he declared. Rita agreed. 

"We kidnap her, Adam will coming willingly! And we kill him!" she cackled evilly. _And that is just the beginning! Just the tip of the iceberg!_ 

"Yes!" Vile crowed. The Rangers would be defeated at last, there was no way the Rangers could stop them! 

"Rito!" Rita screeched. "Get in here, now!" a moment later, the camouflaged skeleton slouched in. 

"Yeah, sis?" he asked. Rita glared at him for a moment, it was hard for her to believe they were related!! 

"I want you to get the Black Ranger's wife, and bring her here to me!" she ordered. Rito nodded and started off. "Go! Take some Tengas with you! Do not fail me this time!" 

"Awww, come on, when have I ever failed?" Rito asked. Rita stared balefully at him. 

"You don't really want me to answer that, do you?"   
  


* * *

  


Azure walked through the park, humming to herself. She looked up to see Tommy and Aisha walking towards her and smiled. 

"Aisha!" Tommy looked ahead and was surprised at who he saw. "You see who I see?" 

Aisha nodded happily. "Yeah, it's Azure! She's back!" 

They were about to head over to her, when Rito and a batch of Tengas appeared all around her. Azure screamed in outrage. "Not again!" 

As they grabbed her, Rito laughed, "Yup, again!" 

Azure rolled her eyes, fighting with all her strength. "Tommy, Aisha! Help!" as the two Rangers ran towards her, Rito laughed. 

"Sorry, Rangers!" he, Azure, and the Tengas vanished just as Aisha and Tommy ran up. The White Ranger growled under his breath. 

"Damn. . .let's get to the Command Center."   
  


* * *

  


Vile laughed with foul and twisted glee as Rito and the Tengas dragged Azure into the throne room. Azure glared at them both. "Great, my first day back, and already I have to see the universe's biggest idiots!" 

"Now, now, now," Vile chuckled. "That's no way to speak if you want to see your husband. . .in one piece." 

Azure stopped. "What? What did you do to Adam?" _If they've hurt him. . .if they've done anything to him. ..I'll destroy them!_ 

"Nothing, yet," Rita told her. "Burt you're going to be the bait to bring him here!" 

"Yeah, right!" 

Vile laughed at Azure's disbelief. "He'll do anything to keep you safe: even die!" 

"Leave him alone!" Azure lashed out with a kick aimed directly where Aura had always preferred to kick male villains. It worked just as well on him, and Azure managed a small smile. 

"Rito!" Rita bellowed, "chain her up! And if she tries anything. . .kill her unborn child!" 

As Rito chained Azure to the wall, Vile managed to recover himself enough to hiss, "We should just go on and do that!" he did not like where she had kicked him! 

Azure's eyes went wide. "No! Not that!" _My child must live!_ 

"Then behave yourself, girl!" Vile growled. Azure quieted down and leaned against the wall, tears sparkling in her eyes.   
  


* * *

  


In the Command Center, Tommy looked at Adam, who wasn't sure quite why they'd all been called here. "You want the good news or bad news first?" he asked. 

"Good news," Adam said, glancing to where Aura was pacing back and forth. Tommy took a deep breath. 

"Azure's back in Angel Grove." 

Adam practically exploded with happiness. "Yes!" he declared, eyes dancing with glee. Tommy continued reluctantly. 

"The bad news is that Rita and Vile have her." 

Adam stopped in his tracks. "I'm going to kill them," he said flatly. Tommy sighed a little. 

"I was waiting for that. We'll get her back, Adam, I promise!" 

Aura looked over at them and growled, "Take a number, Adam!" she looked far more worried than she ever had before when Azure was in danger. Adam looked at her, and could tell in a moment something was up. 

"What's wrong? What aren't you telling me, Aura?" 

Aura sighed. "Azure called me. She's pregnant again, Adam." 

Adam's eyes went round. "What?" _I'm gonna be a dad again!!!!_ "If they hurt, either of them. . ..they're toast!" 

"This probably isn't' the right time to say it," Aura glanced at Billy. "But. . .so am I." 

"What?" Billy didn't believe his ears. 

Aura said it again. "I said, so am I. I'm pregnant again, Billy." 

Before Billy could respond, a hissing voice came from the Viewing Globe behind them. "Hear me, Black Ranger!" 

They all turned to see Vile glaring at them. Adam snarled, "Vile, if you hurt Azure. . . " 

Their enemy laughed. "Surrender," he stepped aside to show a very ticked-off Azure chained against a wall. "And she lives!" 

"Don't do it, Adam!" Azure screamed. Adam was shaking in fear. 

"Azure, I can't let them hurt you, or the baby!" 

She shook her head. "I'm not important!" she protested. "Katia needs you, the Rangers need you!" 

Adam was having none of that. "And I need you!" 

"How touching!" Vile mocked. "It's enough to make me sick! You have one hour to decide!" the Globe went black a moment later. Adam growled an insult so vile they all paled for a moment. 

"This time they've gone too far!" Tommy slammed a fist into the console. Billy was already scanning for Azure, in a rhythm he knew in his bones by now. 

"Man, where do they have her?" he murmured. 

Aura suggested, "Try where they had me. That's where they took the kids that time, but no guarantees they'll do it again." 

Billy shook his head. "Already did, not there!" Aura started to pace again, fighting the strangest urge she had to go grab a piece of kelp and nibble on it. 

Adam sighed deeply, staring at the Viewing Globe and Billy alternately. "I want my wife back!" 

Aisha laid a hand on his shoulder. "We'll get her back, Adam."   
  


* * *

  


Azure couldn't believe what she'd heard Aura saying. _Again? We're both pregnant at the same time? Again?_ 

Rita growled in outrage, she didn't like this one bit! "I don't believe this! How many is she going to have?" 

"I don't know," Vile shook his heads. "But I can use this to our advantage. The Rangers are no doubt planning a rescue of our young prisoner," he leered at Azure. "We distract them." 

"Ohhhhh. . ..what sort of evil plan do you have in mind, Father?" 

Vile explained, "Kidnap the eldest, take him to a cave, and lure her there. While she is trying to save him, create a cave-in, and while the Rangers are scrambling to get them out of there, she and her son will both be here!" 

Rita laughed evilly. "They'll be wasting their time while we have her, her brat, her sister, and the Black Ranger, who will no doubt be rushing here as soon as the others' backs are turned!" 

"No doubt!" Vile chuckled, then turned to gaze at Azure. "Rita? What do you say we kill her anyway?" 

"Excellent!" Rita approved of this sort of thinking. "But we shall wait until her husband gets here, so he can see us do it!" 

"First the unborn child, then it's mother, then it's father!" Vile ticked off in the order they would commit their nefarious acts. Azure screamed. 

"No! Leave my child alone!" 

"Yes!" Rita retorted. Azure closed her eyes, thinking about the two people she loved most in the world: Aura and Adam. Rita laughed, then screamed, "Rito! Another mission for you, dear brother!" 

"What is it?" Rito wondered. He'd done enough, hadn't he? He'd gotten them the Black Ranger's wife. Now he had to do more work? 

"Go snatch the Amber Ranger's oldest kid, and take him there," Rita pointed out a cave she wanted to use. Rito nodded and bounced off in a blast of black light. This would be an even easier job!   
  


* * *

  


Mrs. Robinson turned back to Alex and handed him his dinner. "Your mom will be home soon," she reassured her grandchildren. Aura had called her up not long before and told her to come over and watch the kids for a while, she had to go to 'work'. Knowing Aura, that meant Vile and Rita were up to something. Jessica sighed a little. 

_I wish those monsters would just leave my girls alone. They've been through so much. They need time to rest, time to heal from the damage inflicted on them. Something really needs to be done._ 

"Grandma!" Alaina shrieked, and Jessica whirled to see the bone-monster she'd seen a few other times grabbing Alex by one arm. 

"Let him go, you monster!" she shrieked, grabbing a broom. Rito backed away, Alex in tow. 

"We're outta here!" was all he said as he and the heir to the Amber Ranger powers vanished. Mrs. Robinson's language turned her granddaughter's cheeks cherry red in pure shock.   
  


* * *

  


"Any luck on finding a way to get her out of there?" Adam asked for the fifth time in as many minutes. Billy shook his head. 

"Nothing yet," he paused for a moment as someone teleported into the Command Center. 

"Mom?" Aura looked at Mrs. Robinson. "What is it?" Alaina and Shaya were wrapped in her arms, and looking scared. "What's happened?" 

Mrs. Robinson looked angry! "That skeleton, Rito, he took Alex!" she told them. Aura's eyes flashed with anger 

"He did what?" she murmured softly. Everyone took a step back; when Aura spoke that calmly, she was closest to exploding with anger. She turned to the scanners that weren't involved in the search for Azure, and quickly located her son. "I'm going to go get him." 

"Aura, no!" Billy told her. "That's a trap, plain and simple!" 

"I don't care," she replied, looking at him. "Alex is my son. I couldn't rescue him the last time they had him, but I will this time. They'll regret threatening any member of my family." 

Billy opened his mouth to keep up, but Aura laid a finger on his lips. "I'm going." she was gone before he could say or do anything else about it. He looked at the others. 

"I wish her luck," was all Aisha said.   
  


* * *

  


Aura appeared just outside the cave and listened carefully for a few moments. She heard Alex screaming at the top of his lungs. No frightened wails this, he was insulting Rito with a skill she hadn't known a two year old could possess! "Your mommy dresses you funny!" was the very least of what he was saying. 

"My son," she chuckled softly. "I really have to teach him some better insults than that." 

She quietly crept into the cave, unmorphed, but with every sense extended for anything that could go wrong. She saw Alex and Rito up ahead of her, and paused, checking for traps all around. Rito had her son in a small cage, and she growled lightly at that. _I just might shove HIM into that thing! How dare they do this!_ She was fully aware she wasn't thinking at her clearest, but hoped by being aware of it she'd be able to compensate. There was something missing here, something she wasn't getting, and she didn't like that one bit! 

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Amber Ranger!" she looked behind her to see Goldar standing there. "Long time, no see, my enemy!" he growled as he grabbed her firmly. "Don't you even try to struggle!" he warned her as he dragged her over to her son and Rito. "Or your little brat will pay the price!" 

"Mommy!" Alex screamed when he saw her being forced over to him. "Mommy, I wanna go home!" 

Aura broke from Goldar and ran over to him, reaching through the bars. "We'll go home, Alex. We're going to go home soon." 

"Oh, I don't think so!" Goldar told them. "Rita and Vile have plans for the both of you, as well as that brat sister of yours and her husband!!" 

"If you harm either of them, or my son," Aura said quietly, "I will personally see to it that you are all dismembered." 

Goldar laughed as he took a grip on her arms again, while Rito opened the cage to grab Alex. "I don't think so!" 

As they teleported out, Aura noticed a cave-in beginning. Their plan was crystal-clear to her now: first Azure to lure Adam, then Alex to lure her. The Rangers would be too busy trying to find the two of them in the cave-in to pay full attention to Adam, who would be sneaking off to get to Azure at his first opportunity. For a brief moment, she appreciated their cunning. Then she smiled. _Cunning as they are, they're in for one major shock! The Guardian of the Earth is no one to trifle with!_   
  


* * *

  


"NO!" Billy cried out in shock. "This isn't happening!" 

"What is it?" Tommy jerked his head over to the young genius. "What's going on?" 

"It's Aura," he told him. "Aura and Alex. The cave they were in has started to collapse!" 

Aisha's eyes widened. "Teleport them out, Billy!" she cried. "Now!" 

He shook his head. "I can't! I can't get a lock on them!" 

Rocky bit his lip, and Kat held his hand tightly. "We've got to get them out of there, somehow!" she murmured. She turned to see how Adam was dealing with this, and frowned. She knew he'd been next to her just a few moments earlier. Now where was he? "Has anyone seen Adam?" 

Tommy glanced around, and paled. "He's gone!" 

Billy growled. "This is Rita and Vile's work, I know it!" it was the last thing he said as he got to work finding his wife, son, best friend, and sister-in-law. _If they're hurt, any of them, I'll LEVEL the palace, I swear it by all that's holy, I will!_   
  


* * *

  


Aura managed to get Alex away from Rito and held him tightly to her as they appeared in the Lunar Palace. The first two things she saw were Azure, chained to a wall, and Adam next to her, glaring at Rita and Vile. "Well, well, well, so glad you could join us, Amber Ranger!" Rita gloated. Aura growled at her, holding her son close. 

"Mommy, I want to go home!" he cried. Aura nodded, glancing over to Azure and Adam. She smiled a little at her sister. 

"Hey, sis, I hear we're both expecting again," Azure grinned at her a little in response. "Ready to get out of here?" 

"I've been ready since I got here!" Azure told her. "And having no-brain here show up made me even more ready!" she glanced tenderly at Adam to take the sting out of her words. 

"Hey, I couldn't just let you die!" he protested. How could she have even though that he wouldn't come? Didn't she know him at all? 

"Oh, that's more than enough of a reunion!" Vile had more than had enough of this! "Time to die, all of you!" 

Rita nodded, waving her staff threateningly at Azure. "And I think we should start with this brat!" 

"No!" Adam put himself in front of his wife, protecting her. "You're not going to hurt her!" 

"Monkey-boy!" Vile roared. "Get that Ranger out of the way!" Goldar was about to grab Adam when Aura knocked him away and took her place in front of her sister. 

"No one. .but no one. . .touches my family," she whispered, eyes blazing with rage. "You have kidnapped my son, my sister, lured my brother-in-law here, and that's just what you've done today. I'm not even going to mention what you've done in the past. It's time for this to stop." 

Rita laughed. "Oh, really? And just what do you think you're going to do about it?" 

Aura smiled a little. "Oh, I've got something I can do. It works a little like this," she closed her eyes, starting to concentrate, calling on the Spirit of Earth. Vile growled savagely; he'd seen this before. 

"I don't think so!" a bolt lashed out from his staff to knock Aura off her feet and into unconsciousness. Azure screamed in outrage, then stiffened suddenly, paying no attention to the laughter of Vile and Rita. Instead, she heard within her mind, a very familiar voice. 

_Rita and Vile must be stopped,_ the Spirit of Earth whispered to her and Alex. She knew it spoke to Alex, without knowing how she knew. She smiled as the manacles that had held her to the wall melted away, along with the icy fear inside of her. She ran over to Aura and glared to Vile. "If you've hurt her or her unborn child, you will pay!" 

Alex ran to her, obviously excited. "Aunt Azure! I heard the ghost lady in my head!" 

Azure nodded. "So did I. I think I know what we must do, too." 

Aura's eyes flickered, and opened. "Uhhhh. . .that hurt. . .," she whispered. Alex smiled. 

"What do we do?" 

Azure took a deep breath. She had hoped this would never happen again, but now it was. It was time to end this war, once and for all. "Open yourself to her. Invite her into you." 

Alex nodded, and did it. A moment later, so had Azure. Aura glanced at the two Guardians next to her, and smiled as her gaze turned to their enemies. "You're in trouble now, Vile!" was all she said as she too joined with the Spirit, to become the third and final Guardian. 

"Uh-oh," was all Vile said, as Rita stared, and Rito showed one of the few marks of intelligence he ever had, and ran as fast as he possibly could out of there. 

Guardian-Aura observed the two left. "This has gone on long enough," she spoke dispassionately. Guardian-Alex agreed, sounding far older than his years. Guardian-Azure nodded. 

"Much too long!" 

"This will end, now!" Guardian-Aura declared. 

"Once and for all!" Guardian-Alex nodded, as did Guardian-Azure. "Let's do it!" Guardian-Aura raised her hand, as did the others. Three blasts of energy poured forth from them, enveloping Rita and Vile, and reducing them to nothing but dust. 

Adam stared at what had been their enemies, then looked over at the Guardians. He took a deep breath. "You mean we're retired again?" 

As the Spirit left them all, Aura nodded. "I think so. And this time, it's for good," Azure sank to her knees as Aura spoke, and Adam ran to her, taking her in his arms. 

"Azure," he whispered. "It's finally over." 

She smiled at him. "I take it you know my little surprise." 

Adam nodded, smiling. "Yeah, I do. We're going to be parents again." 

Aura came over, Alex in her arms. "Come on, guys, let's go home!" 

"It's going to be good to be where I belong again!" Azure smiled as she leaned against Adam, and whispered to him, "Mom and Dad said they'd watch Katia until tomorrow afternoon! She's there now!" 

Adam smiled a little. "It'll be so good to have you home!"   
  


* * *

  


The little group reappeared in the Command Center, Azure held tightly in Adam's arms, as Alex was held in Aura's. "Hey, guys!" Azure smiled at them as they materialized. 

Billy came over to them, eyes wide with relief, and hugged his wife and son. "Hi, Billy!" Aura smiled. "Guess what!" 

"What?" he wondered what was going on now! 

"We're retired!" Aura sighed happily. "Permanently this time!" 

"About time!" Billy sighed as he kissed her with all the love and passion in the world; a kiss equaled only by Azure and Adam sharing one a few feet away. Adam leaned back and looked at Azure, drinking in the sight of her glittering eyes. 

"Finally. At least. Peace." 

Azure glanced over to the Rangers. "I've missed you all, but I really want to get home right now! I'll see you all tomorrow!" 

"We understand!" Tommy giggled. "Have fun, you two!" 

Azure gave him a serious look, then turned to Adam. "We are going to have to talk first." 

"Okay," Adam looked somewhat nervous at that. "Talks" with Azure weren't always wonderful! 

Azure smiled at him. "It's nothing bad," she touched her stomach. "It's about this little fellow. Among other things." 

"Okay," he sounded, and was, very relieved! "Let's go!"   
  


* * *

  


Azure reached into one of her bags and pulled out a box. Turning to Adam, who sat on the edge of the bed watching her, she said, "I got you something!" 

"Really?" he loved to buy her things, and was rather surprised she'd turned the tables on him! 

"It's not much," she smiled. "Just an old martial arts book. But I saw it, and thought of you." 

"I couldn't stop thinking about you!" Adam smiled at her. _Especially not when I went into the past, and saw you. You were beautiful even then._ 

"Neither could I," Azure admitted. "I missed you so much." 

"And I missed you," Adam couldn't believe how much he'd missed you! His heart had died when he had read the note she'd written. "Oh, while you were gone. . .," he filled her in on Rita and Vile's attempt to change the past. When he was done, she smiled, laughing. 

"That officer was you!" 

"You remember," he grinned, glad he had stuck in her mind all those years. 

"I always wondered why he almost said my name," Azure told him. It had always intrigued her, and she remembered now why he had looked so familiar that first day in the Angel Grove cafeteria. 

Adam found himself blushing, something he hadn't done much recently. "I'm just glad I could help." Azure sat next to him on the bed. 

"There is so much I need to tell you," Azure sighed, leaning against him. Adam put an arm around her and kissed her gently on the forehead. 

"We've got forever." 

Azure snuggled close to him. "We do, don't we?" 

Adam nodded. "Thanks to you, to Aura, and to Alex." 

Azure smiled and kissed him again; she had missed being with him! "You know what? I could go for some butter pecan ice cream right about now!" 

Adam thought for a moment, then smiled. "There's none in the house; I could go buy some." _Cravings. If I didn't already know, I'd swear she was pregnant!_ 

"Thanks!" Azure smiled at him. "I'll finish unpacking while you're gone!" Adam smiled, and was down to the store and back within five minutes. He found Azure curled up on the bed, paging through a photo album. 

"Hey!" she smiled up at him as he sat down, holding out the bag with the ice cream. "OH, thanks! You know, I never used to eat this stuff! 

"I know," Adam smiled as they kissed again. He glanced at the photo album. "What are you looking at?" 

She chuckled a little. "Some old photos my Aunt dug up for me. This one is Aura," she pointed to a picture of Aura, at thirteen, hanging out of a tree!" 

"Billy would love to see that one!" 

Azure shook her head. "If I showed it to him, Aura would kill me!" 

"Now why is that?" Adam wondered. "I don't think you two have ever had a series fight since I've known you." 

Azure finished up a dish of her ice cream, then closed the book. "It's not about a fight. It's the story behind that picture," she kissed him again, leaving a whitish smear on his lips. "But that's enough talk about the past. Let's just work on the future. Our future!" 

Adam nodded smiling. _Now that we have a future. Together._ "We're going to be parents again." 

Azure smiled. "Again," she kissed him once more, passionately and deeply. "I love you, Adam Park." 

Adam returned the kiss. "I love you, Azure Park."   
  


* * *

  


Aura slipped Alex into his bed and pulled the covers up over him tightly. She smiled a little sadly, then glanced up as Billy came in. "You okay?" 

She nodded. "Saving the world's a habit by now." 

"One we're going to have to break. Hopefully, never to pick up again." 

Aura sighed, looking down at Alex as he slept. "But he'll still have to be trained, just in case." _I won't fail my duty to my world, or my family._ 

"Come on," Billy gestured towards the door. "Let's let him sleep in peace," once she was out the door, he placed a hand on her stomach. "How far along are you?" 

She smiled; she'd never really shown her pregnancies that much. "About six months. I'm surprised you haven't noticed!" 

"So am I," Billy smiled. "But then again, we've both been a little busy." 

Aura nodded, seeming a bit distracted over something. "You know, I think we're going to have to get a much bigger house." 

"Yeah," Billy grinned. "If you keep getting pregnant, we are definitely going to have to!" 

Aura smiled weakly. "And I am going to keep having kids! It literally runs in my family, on my father's side, anyway. I get a lot more from him than just the inherited ability to kick major bad guy butt it seems." 

"I'm glad the Spirit was able to heal that in both you and Azure," Billy smiled; just after the defeat of Zedd and Eric, the Spirit had healed both Aura and Azure so they could have children again, despite what the two scum had done to them. 

"So am I," Aura smiled, then grew serious. "Ummmm. . .Billy. . .I talked to the Spirit after I found out I was pregnant again." 

"What did she say?" 

"That's what I meant by a bigger house," Aura sighed, a smile teasing her lips. "It seems every female Amber Ranger in existence, since the first time one was an Amber Ranger, has had at least ten kids." 

"Ten?" Billy stared at her in pure shock and wonderment. Aura nodded. "A much bigger house, it seems!" 

"Yeah," Aura smiled, then frowned a little. "I also found out something else." 

"What?" Billy frowned himself; he didn't like it when Aura was upset over something. 

It took her a few moments to speak the words. "I. . .I'm not human, Billy. We've known that for years. ..," she paused for a moment, but he could plainly tell she had more to say. 

"I know," Billy nodded. "You're Kalakan, we've al known that for years." 

She couldn't look at him when she said the next part. "K. .Kalakan lifespans are nearly twice that of humans, Billy." 

Billy smiled, and held her hand. "Then we spend what time we have together, and enjoy it. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the universe." 

"Neither would I," Aura said, finally looking at him, and smiling. "I Love you, Billy. Do you know. .once I thought to change history so I grew up on Kalakan, and never knew you." 

"I'm glad you didn't." 

Aura smiled. "So am I. I wasn't thinking clearly then." Billy kissed her passionately and lovingly, enfolding her in arms so full of love it didn't matter if she lived a minute or a century beyond him, so long as she was with him now. "I love you." 

Neither one ever knew which of them said that at that moment. They also never cared. It was enough that it had been said.   
  


* * *

  


Six months passed, with nothing but peace enveloping their world. Once again, Zordon had decided they would keep their powers for a year after the threat was gone. Should no one else threaten their world, then the Power Rangers would be retired. They would also be on the lookout for successors, since they were all truly going on with their lives. 

Aura had given birth to her second son, whom they named William Adam Cranston. Two weeks later, Kat had given birth to her daughter: Kimberly DeSantos. She and Rocky had been married a week later. The two of them were visiting with Azure and Adam, showing off the offspring, one fine spring morning. 

"Hello, little William," Azure smiled at her nephew, then glanced over to Kat. "How is little Kimberly?" 

"Just fine," Kat smiled. "She's already eating like her father!" 

"I can just imagine!" Azure giggled, then stiffened a little. "Adam?" 

"Is it time?" Adam looked at her, jumping up. Azure nodded. "I think so!" 

They were on their way to the hospital less then five minutes later. In the delivery room, Azure screamed in agony, holding on to Adam's hand with all her strength. "Come on, Azure, it's almost over," he reassured her. 

"You are going to pay for this, Adam!" she hissed. Adam smiled and nodded. 

"Yes, dear." 

A few long moments passed, with Azure pushing when necessary. She relaxed when she heard the baby's cry, and smiled at Adam's quick asking of, "What is it, what is it?" 

"It's a lovely girl!" the doctor reported, and Adam took a long look at his second daughter's face. 

"As beautiful as her mother," Adam sighed happily, then carried her over to Azure. The new mother smiled beatifically. 

"Hello there, Jennifer Aura Park," she whispered. Adam kissed them both gently. 

"Welcome to a peaceful world," he told her. Azure's smile lit the room up as she leaned against Adam. "I love you, Azure." 

"I love you, Adam," Azure never tired of hearing that, or saying it. "Think Aura wants to see her niece?" 

"And namesake," Adam giggled a little. "You haven't told her that part yet, have you?" 

"No," Azure shook her head. Adam smiled and returned a few moments later with Aura in tow. "Hey there! Aura, I'd like you to meet your newest niece: Jennifer Aura Park." 

"Azure!" the elder woman's eyes were wide. "You didn't have to name her that!" 

Azure nodded. "I did. A thank you for saving my life all the times you did. Besides, you gave Alaina my name as a middle name!: 

"That was a thank you for saving my sanity!" 

Azure smiled and held her daughter out. "Want to hold her?" Aura smiled and took the babe. "Here you go, Jeni. . Say hello to your Aunt Aura!" 

As Jeni cooed at her aunt, Aura smiled. "Hey there, kiddo. You don't know it yet, but your parents are heroes!" 

Azure smiled and drifted off to sleep. Aura gently slid the baby back over to Adam, and whispered. "Come on. There's a couple of people outside you should meet." 

Once they were out in the waiting room, Adam saw two unfamiliar people, a man and woman, seated and talking with the Rangers. The woman held a baby in her arms, and they both seemed very happy. 

"Who are they?" Adam wondered. Aura smiled. 

"A more accurate question would be, who were they!" she corrected him. Adam smiled and asked it again. "Scorpina and Rito. Or as they're known now, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Smith." 

"Woah," Adam's eyes were wide; he'd never imagined this! As they joined them, Scorpina and Rito looked up. He had never believed Rito could actually be handsome, but he was! He even looked intelligent! 

"Hey!" Aura smiled. "Meet Jennifer Aura Park, everyone!" as everyone oohed and ahhed over the baby, Scorpina glanced to Adam. 

"Hello, Adam," she said in a perfectly normal, sweet voice. "How is your wife?" 

"Ummm. ..fine, she's asleep now," Adam really wasn't used to this! They were human, they were normal, they were. .. .were they?? 

Rito smiled. "No hard feelings for anything we did?" 

Adam shook his head. "Nope." 

"Thanks," Rito grinned even wider. "If it weren't for your wife, sister-in-law, and nephew, I wouldn't have become human, or been sent back in time. I met Scorpina a couple of years ago, and we fell in love. This is Alan, our son." 

"You mean. .you two. .are uh. . .." 

Scorpina nodded, raising her left hand, on which blazed a wedding ring. "Married? Yes, we are." 

There was only one thing Adam could say to that. "Congratulations!" he smiled at them, feeling a strange sense of something rising in him. He examined it for a moment, then realized what it was. 

Contentment. It was all over. The wars were ended. His wife loved him, he loved her, and they were together. 

Peace reigned. 

Or did it? 

**The End**


	43. Turbo Amber

_**Author's note:** To all Amber Ranger fans: this is where we take normal PR continuity and totally abandon it. This fanfic and all subsequent ones were never originally intended to be written, but through a special series of circumstances, they were, and are hereby delivered for your enjoyment. The character of Justin has been tailored JUST a little bit for our own uses, other than that, he is as he is in the series, as close as we can get him, anyway. The character of Jacklyn, and anything related to her, belongs to our good friend Kahva. The character of Pyris belongs to us, please don't use either Pyris or Jacklyn without asking us first!! The whole "Turbo Era" of the Amber Ranger series was inspired by a dream of Elizabeth's, blame her subconscious if you don't like this :) Liz, never stop dreaming!!! :)_

**Turbo Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

It had been three months, three months of peace and harmony since the birth of Azure and Adam's daughter. Once more the Power Rangers would be giving up their powers in a mere few weeks. Just in case anyone else tried to attack Earth, they were looking for younger replacements, however. Only Aura would ever retain her powers, as if she had a choice in the matter. 

But being a Ranger or related to one wasn't on Azure Park's mind as she helped out at the Women's Crisis Center one balmy fall afternoon. "I don't think we need this one anymore," she smiled a little as she glanced at Eric's picture. Jacklyn, the peer counselor, glanced over at her. 

"Why's that?" 

Azure choked a little on the words, she couldn't tell Jacklyn the full truth of course. She really should've had his picture taken down, but hadn't been able to come up with a story that would hold up to all investigation on how she knew he was gone. Now she had something. "I heard the other day, they found him. . .he's. . .he's dead. . . ," _And his body showed up in the same cave Goldar and Rito trapped Aura and Alexander in!_

"Oh, man, I hadn't heard!" Jacklyn didn't sound very upset, and Azure knew she wasn't upset in the slightest! Azure smiled a little. 

"Thanks for calling me to help with the move, I wish I could be of more help, though." 

"You're doing a great job," Jacklyn smiled at her. Azure smiled a little. 

"Thanks," she said. "How are you doing?" 

"Better," Jacklyn sighed a little. Azure nodded briefly. 

"You know you can call me, if you want to talk about anything," she said after a few moments of silence. Jacklyn nodded. 

"I know, and thanks," she smiled. The two of them were almost as close as Aura and Azure were. 

Azure glanced at the clock. "Adam should be here soon. . You going to be okay?" 

Jacklyn nodded. "Yeah, things are just about done here, anyway." 

"I'll finish up on this wall and walk you out to your car if you want," Azure suggested. Her friend smiled and nodded. 

"That would be nice!" 

Azure slipped the last picture up on the wall, then looked at her friend. "Ready?" 

"Let me grab my purse," Jacklyn snatched up her bag, then threw Azure's to her. In a few minutes, they were at her car. 

Azure smiled at her. "I'm going to wait inside for Adam. I'll see you tomorrow?" 

Jacklyn nodded. "Have a good night, Azure!" 

"I will," Azure promised. "And maybe I'll bring Jeni tomorrow, so you can finally meet her!" 

"I'd love to," Jacklyn grinned. She started off as Azure waved at her. 

"You go have fun!" Azure called out, then started back towards the building. _I don't know what I'd do without this place._ She remembered one of her first times here very clearly, the first time she'd really gotten to know Jacklyn. . . * * *  
_two years earlier_  
  


Azure sighed softly, looking at the group of women she was sitting with. There were fifteen of them in all when you counted herself and Jacklyn, the group leader, as Azure thought of her. Azure had been coming to group for two weeks now, this was her fourth meeting. _What am I doing here, I can't talk to these people about what happened with Eric! _Azure took a small comfort in realizing that she wasn't the only one who couldn't talk yet about what had happened to them. There was a thirty-five-year-old housewife with two children who had gotten away from her abusive husband a month ago, three other women had been attacked by their boyfriends. All the others were victims of either date-rape or stranger-rape, and all of the stranger-rapes were part of a home invasion robbery. Everyone knew that Azure had been attacked by her boyfriend, that he had tried to rape her, but that was it, any other details were hers to share or keep, there was absolutely no pressure in group to share. Most of the time, two or three or the group would share, everyone else would listen, sometimes expressing their own anger, or saying how they had felt ashamed also, and dirtied by their own experience. 

To know that what she had felt had been experienced by others helped, though. These women, ages ranging from fifteen to forty-three, all understood. Azure didn't know what Jacklyn's story was, or if she even had one. She was simply the leader, the one who could sense when another needed to talk, or simply have a shoulder to cry on. _How did the group ever contact my parents, anyway?_ she wondered. _It's nice, but how? And what's going to happen when they realize I can't talk about Eric?_

"Okay," Jacklyn's voice broke into her thoughts. "We'll see everybody next Tuesday, thanks for coming. Remember, if you need to call someone, you have the number for the Center, and for all of the counselors, call each other, call a family member or a friend, but make the call. Take care, everybody." The women all filed out, Jacklyn watching each one get into a car, or catch the bus. Azure scanned the parking lot for her mother's car, but it was nowhere to be found. A quick check at the Center's office revealed that her mom had been delayed at work and that it would be another thirty minutes before she arrived. Azure sat out on the front steps where she could see all traffic on the road, and the entire parking lot. The girl fingered the communicator on her wrist, if Eric showed up, all she had to do was stay calm and activate it. "Either they'll get me out, or they'll show up. I just have to stay calm," she muttered under her breath. 

"Azure? Do you need a ride?" Azure nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of Jacklyn's voice behind her. "I didn't mean to scare you, I'm sorry! I thought you heard me coming up behind you." 

"I guess I was a little lost in thought, it's okay," the girl smiled. "My mom's going to be about a half-hour late picking me up." 

"Want some company?" Azure started to refuse, but then nodded. She really didn't like the thought of sitting out in the open all alone for thirty minutes. "How do you feel about group so far? Any questions, or suggestions?" 

"Suggestions?" Azure was surprised at that, Jacklyn was the counselor, and she was asking for suggestions? "Umm, no, no questions, no suggestions. I mean, you're the counselor and all, not me." 

"Ah, so I automatically know best, is that it?" she chuckled. "I guess you've never looked at the title they list next to my name, huh?" 

Azure stared at the young woman. "It says you're a counselor." 

Jacklyn smiled. "Peer counselor." She let that hang there, waiting for it to sink in. After a minute Azure gasped, realization shining in her eyes. "Yep, I usually don't talk about mine in group unless I need to, or if it is similar to someone else in group, and talking about mine might help them." The young woman sighed, looked at the ground, then back at Azure. "I almost talked about it today, but I could see that Carol was finally going to talk, so I didn't. I'm so glad she finally opened up, her husband had been verbally abusive from the week after they were married, it became physical about six months ago. She's been in group for two months, away from him for a month, but today is the first time she's talked." 

_I don't feel so odd for not talking now, _Azure thought. The question that had been bugging her for over two weeks came out before she could stop herself. "How did the Women's Crisis Center know to contact my parents about me?" 

Jacklyn gave a sad half-smile. "I was in the emergency room when you were brought in after your attempt. I was there waiting on word about Tina, her ex-fianc, had attacked her that morning. She called me, I called the ambulance and the police." Jacklyn's eyes grew distant for a few seconds, as if an old memory was replaying before her eyes. "I could've been wrong, but with the way your family and friends were acting, I figured you had tried to commit suicide, and I had a feeling it was connected to a boyfriend, or ex-boyfriend somehow." 

Azure was amazed. "My ex-boyfriend had been harassing me, I could hardly leave the house... how did you know?" 

"I've been there before, suicide attempt. I've seen that worry on a mother's face before," Jacklyn sighed. 

Azure studied the young woman, surely she didn't mean... "No way, not you!" 

"Why not me?" 

"You're so strong, you could never do that!" 

A dry laugh was Jacklyn's answer, then silence. "Yeah, me. I didn't think I could tell anyone about what had been happening, I felt so dirty and worthless..." Jacklyn stopped, caught between being counselor and someone who needed to talk herself. Azure found she was torn as well; she wanted to know more, but she didn't want to hurt her group leader with bad memories. 

"You don't have to talk about it." 

"Actually I do, but if you don't want me to bore you, I'll shut up," she smiled. 

"No, I mean... if you don't mind. I've never talked one on one with somebody about it like this before." 

"Ask away." 

Azure sighed, all of a sudden so many questions she had buried deep inside were bubbling to the surface, where to start? "How long ago did it happen to you? Being attacked?" 

"Six years and one week ago exactly was the last attack, on my fourteenth birthday. He'd been sexually abusing me from the time I was ten until I turned thirteen. Then it changed to sexual abuse and rape until my fourteenth birthday." Jacklyn looked out at the parking lot and sighed, Azure could see the pain on her face, hear the sadness in her voice. "You know what he told me on my thirteenth birthday? That I was finally old enough, that it was time for me to learn a woman's place. He pulled me into my parents' room, my parents' bedroom! He made me..." her voice trailed off, but she finally told Azure everything that happened. "He actually fractured my wrist, holding my hands over my head like he did. He told me that he had taken it easy on me since it was my first time, but that I had to learn, otherwise I would never find a man who would love me, that this was a game all girls had to learn. I threatened to tell on him once, when I was eleven, and he said if I did, I would be the one to get into trouble, that my parents would be mad at me for being a bad girl. He was older, a family friend. I was a kid who didn't even know what the word sex meant, much less molestation. And what mixed me up so bad was his being so nice, he's the one who taught me how to ride a bike, how to play softball and basketball, how to swim, how to sail... he always told me that he'd take me on an overnight sailing trip when I was fifteen. I don't even want to think about what he might have done if I hadn't had to tell." 

"Had to tell? Someone made you tell?" Azure asked. She was in awe of how Jacklyn could share this with a total stranger, when Azure couldn't bring herself to share all of what Eric had done, had threatened to do, with her own family. 

"My brother made me. Six years and a week ago exactly is also the day I tried to commit suicide. I couldn't stand the pain anymore, I knew by then that what was happening wasn't right, but I still believed him, that I would be the one to get into trouble. But after his 'present' on my birthday - lingerie to model for him before he raped me - I couldn't stand it. I thought my only way out was suicide." 

"What did you do? What happened?" Azure asked softly. 

"I took a whole bottle of over-the-counter painkillers. I thought it would work, but my dad saw me taking the last of them, he knocked them out of my hand and rushed me to the hospital. They pumped my stomach... I wouldn't talk to anyone, so that had no choice but to put me in a mental hospital. They had no clue, the doctors didn't check me for any signs of sexual abuse... I bided my time. I wasn't sleeping well, so they were giving me pills for that. I would take half, hide half. After a month, I figured I had more than enough to try again." 

"Who stopped you?" Azure asked, then answered her own question in her next breath. "Your brother, he stopped you, didn't he?" 

"Without even knowing it. My emotions were so close to the surface that day, then he came to see me, wanted to know what had happened a month earlier, why I had tried to kill myself. He wouldn't take my silence for an answer, I had to tell him something. But before I could some up with a good lie, I let the truth slip out. Only part of it, that our so-called family friend had raped me on my birthday, but it was enough to get things started. They arrested the guy, and he admitted to everything. And I mean _everything._ It was after he made bail that he tried to deny everything. My parents had told me by that time they weren't mad at me, that I wasn't a bad girl. They told me they loved me and that they believed in me and that they were behind me all the way. After believing for so long I was so bad and worthless, that I deserved to get hurt... Azure, it took time, but I told everything. I testified against him and he's in jail." 

"How did your parents deal with what he did?" 

"It was hard on them, they had known him since before they were married. They didn't want to believe he could do that, but they knew I wouldn't lie about something like that. Our relatives weren't quite so understanding, though." 

"What do you mean?" 

"Well," she sighed, "some of them believed, some thought I was just looking for attention. The rest didn't know what to think, I guess, so they avoided us. And that guy's family hates me. Even though he confessed when he was arrested, before the police even asked him any questions, mind you, they think I made it all up just to get him into trouble. They don't even believe he's sent me threatening letters over the past couple of years. They're determined to fight me at his parole hearing in two months." 

"But you'll have your parents and your brother on your side... won't you?" 

"In spirit." For the first time ever, Azure thought she would see Jacklyn cry. She didn't, but her voice wavered with the effort not to cry. "They were killed in a car crash last year. We didn't live near any of our other relatives, so I'm not really close to any of them, I'll be alone when I fly back home for the hearing." Jacklyn cleared her throat and smiled finally. "There are a couple of cousins that I've been friends with all along, they've been keeping me updated on things back home. I haven't asked them, but maybe they would be able to go. They're really the only family I have left. Any other questions, Azure?" 

The older girl's smile was genuine, she wanted to help Azure, but she would not pressure her, Azure knew that. She started to ask another question, but found herself pouring out everything about Eric instead, except for what had to deal with Zedd or the Power Rangers. As she finally vented her fears, frustrations, anger and pain, a weight she hadn't remembered that was on her heart finally lifted. She had gotten so used to keeping the pain inside, she had forgotten how heavily it had borne down on her. By the time she was finished, both girls were hugging each other, both crying, both having shared months and years of pain. Jacklyn patted Azure's back as she hiccuped, after a few minutes they were gone. "I never thought I could ever talk about Eric, I mean really talk. He hasn't ever managed to rape me -" 

"That doesn't matter, Azure. He tried to, and what he did do was wrong! You have nothing to be ashamed of, believe me. The only one who's to blame for what happened to you is Eric. If you have a picture of him, bring it in, we'll put it on our wall, that way if anyone sees him around here, or anywhere near you, we can call the police." 

"Somehow, I don't think the police can stop him. His dad has a way of getting him out of trouble, now that he's found him. He helps Eric hide; to try and get me another day." 

"You have your family and friends, right?" Azure nodded at that, not quite sure what the young woman meant. "Azure, where there is love, true love, nothing is impossible. Strength comes not from being an island unto oneself, but in knowing when to lean on the ones we love, and who love us. No one can tear down love like that. One day, somewhere, somehow, Eric will be punished for what he's done. I firmly believe that. You know what they say, good always wins in the end," Jacklyn grinned. 

"They win some of the battles," 

"But not the war. Eric will never win the war, as long as you believe in yourself and the love that surrounds you. I saw your family and friends at the emergency room, remember? You've got an army, girl!! And you've got people here who care too." The sound of a car driving up interrupted them, it was Azure's mom. "Looks like your ride is here. Listen," she said, digging into her pocketbook, "here's my pager number, I always keep it with me. If you need to talk, or if you need me to call the police, if you need anything, anything... call me. I'm not a miracle worker, but I'll do my best," she smiled. "Just always remember: you're never alone." Azure smiled and laughed for the first time in a long while, then waved at Jacklyn as she and her mom drove off. 

"I thought you wanted to quit group. Seems to me like you've found a friend." 

"I think I've found more than that, Mom. I might be on the path to finding my life again. And about group... I think I'll stick with it for a little while longer," Azure said, fingering Jacklyn's pager number. _Thank you... * * *  
the present_

Azure smiled to herself as she went back inside, heading for the gym. She was planning on doing a quick workout before Adam got there when she heard a fierce hi-ya from inside. She stopped in her tracks, eyes widening briefly before reminding herself there were no more villains. 

"Who's there?" she almost shouted. A young male voice replied. 

"Justin!" 

She walked on into the gym, smiling a little when she saw the young boy there. "What are you doing here?" she wondered. 

"Practicing," he told her. It was obvious he was a skilled martial artist, he moved the way one did, living with Adam for so many years had given her an eye for it. 

"Don't let me keep you," Azure smiled at him. "I'm just waiting for my ride to get here." 

He came over to her, a cute kid of about twelve or so. "I'm Justin, who are you?" 

"Azure Park," she introduced herself. "Good to meet you." 

"Nice to meet you, too!" Justin smiled at her as they shook hands. 

"You like martial arts?" she wondered. He seemed a bit young. 

He nodded. "Yeah, I do. What about you?" 

"A little, but my husband's more into it than I am. I like dancing," she told him. 

"Really?" he grinned a bit. 

She glanced around, then down at her watch. "As a matter of fact, my husband teaches kung-fu," she liked the way Justin smiled. 

"That's great!" he bounced around a bit. Azure smiled, it was obvious she'd already made a new friend. * * * 

In the center of Angel Grove Lake, an alien spacecraft settled to rest. Within it, a purple-haired pirate screamed at the top of her lungs. "Porto, have we arrived on Earth yet?" 

"We have just arrived, Queen Divatox!" Porto informed her. Divatox smiled nastily as she went over to her periscope. 

"Good!" she purred. "This place is just _dripping_ with jewels and treasure for me to steal!" 

Rygog cleared his throat a bit diffidently. "What about the Power Rangers?" 

"The Power _who_?" Divatox laughed. "Are those multi-colored misfits supposed to scare me?" 

Her crew exchanged slightly nervous glances. "One of them _did_ kill Master Vile!" 

Divatox shrugged. "Their powers are no match for mine!" she declared, then frowned a trifle. "But they might try to interfere! I'll set out a detonator to distract them!" 

"Hey, why not at that community center thingie I saw on the way down here?" her nephew Elgar suggested. Divatox's eyebrows shot to her hairline. 

"If I didn't know better, I'd swear you just had an idea!" Divatox didn't believe her ears! 

"I did?" Elgar was happy! "Cool!" 

"Don't get so excited, it'll never happen again!" Divatox said dryly. "Go plant the detonator, Elgar, and make sure you're not seen! And take some Piranatrons with you!" 

"Righto, Auntie Di!" Elgar cackled, then vanished. Divatox's wild laughter echoed in the Subcraft. 

"Just let the Power Rangers try and stop me!" she declared. This entire planet was going to be _hers_! * * * 

"You may want to head on home," Azure told Justin as they sat together. "Your parents are probably worried about you." 

He shook his head, looking sad. "I live at the Little Angels' Haven," he sighed. Azure raised an eyebrow; this kid lived at an orphanage? 

"What happened to your parents?" 

This was obviously a fresh pain to him. "My mom died, and my dad. . .he travels around a lot, so he left me at the orphanage since I don't have any other relatives." 

"That doesn't sound like the kind of life I'd like to live," Azure sighed._ I've always had a family. Mom, Dad, Aura, Adam, the kids. . .I can't imagine being alone like he is._ Her thoughts were interrupted suddenly by a voice she didn't recognize, but felt an instinctive antipathy for. 

"Now for a place to plant this thing!" she heard. She glanced quickly at Justin. 

"Stay here!" she said quickly as she started out to the hall. She peered around the corner, and bit her lip as she saw a group of unfamiliar mutants wandering around. _Not good! Time to call in the professionals!_

She headed quickly back to Justin and guided him under a stairwell where they'd be safe. "What's going on?" he murmured, glancing over his shoulder to where he could see the shadows of the monsters. 

"I don't know," she was hoping things weren't going back to the way they had been only a few months before! "But I am hoping the Power Rangers show up!" _and since I just hit the emergency alarm on my communicator, I think they're going to!_ * * * 

Adam and Aisha pulled up to the Community Center. They'd been discussing what it would be like for the Power Rangers to no longer be needed, and both of them had agreed they were looking forward to retirement. It was time they got on with their lives. Both of them stiffened suddenly as their communicators went off. "Man!" Adam groaned. "Not after all this time!" 

"Oh, great!" Aisha sighed. "Wonder who it is this time? Who _can_ it be?" 

Adam shrugged. "I don't think Aura left many of them alive," he raised the communicator. "This is Adam, what is it Alpha?" 

"Ay-yi-yi!" Alpha's voice came over the communicator. "Divatox has arrived on Earth, and has sent her foot soldiers and her nephew Elgar to the Community Center!" 

Adam growled, "Damn! Azure's in there!" he glanced at the Community Center building. "We're already here, contact the others!" 

"Will do, Adam, ay-yi-yi!" Alpha cut off the communications as Adam looked over to Aisha and spoke three words they'd all hoped would never be needed again. 

"It's morphin' time!" * * * 

Billy Cranston watched with pleasure and pride as Aura moved through a kata in the Youth Center workout area. He smiled warmly at her as she turned to look at him. 

"I've never seen that before," he said. 

She nodded. "I'd be surprised if you had. This is something my father taught me," she still had, and always would, a warm place in her heart for Kalakan and Neras both. 

"You're good at it!" Aura was about to nod in agreement when a sound they all hated echoed. 

"Tell me I didn't hear that," the Amber Ranger sighed. Tommy couldn't do that, though, as he came over to her and Billy. "Great! Let's go find out what the trouble is this time!" 

Rocky nodded as they went to their usual corner. "Let's hope Rita doesn't have any more relatives!" 

"Tell me about it!" Aura shivered in fear. She'd had more than enough of that. 

Kat raised her communicator. "This is Kat, go ahead, Alpha!" 

"Rangers, teleport to the Community Center, Aisha and Adam need your help, Piranatrons have attacked!" the same thought went through everyone's mind. _What in the world are Piranatrons?_

Tommy sighed. _Guess we're about to find out._ "Let's do it once again! It's morphin' time!" * * * 

Adam groaned as he was thrown into a wall. "I don't know how much longer we can hold out!" he groaned. Aisha nodded as she smashed against the stairs beneath which Azure and Justin hid. 

"Neither do I!" she moaned. That had _hurt_, regardless of being morphed! Adam pulled himself to his feet. 

"Where are the others?" he wanted to know. A familiar voice answered him, one he was _very_ glad to hear! 

"Right here!" Aura snapped. "So, these are Piranatrons?" she glanced around at the fish-fighters as they closed in on her and the other Rangers. The fight _really_ began in that moment! 

Azure bit her lip nervously, watching as the Rangers and Piranatrons fought all over the Community Center. Adam was throw up against the wall near them, and spared a glance. "You two okay?" he asked. Azure nodded briefly, as Adam headed back into the fight. 

"These things are tough!" Aura groaned as one almost tripped her. She backflipped, slamming it against a wall and into watery oblivion. 

Adam nodded as he passed her. "Tell me about it! I think I dented the wall a couple of times!" * * * 

Divatox watched the fight through her periscope, tapping her fingers thoughtfully against it. "So, the Power Rangers think they can defeat my Piranatrons. . .," she mused. Elgar nodded. 

"Guess so!" 

"Well, I've got news for them!" she snapped her fingers. "Melter Monster, front and center!" 

The creature jumped before her. "Aye aye, captain!" it saluted sharply. 

"Go to the fight, and melt those Rangers' Power Coins at _once_!" Divatox ordered. The Melter saluted again. 

"On my way, Your Majesty!" it vanished, and Divatox laughed hideously. 

"Enjoy your powers while you have them, Rangers! For the next five minutes or so!" * * * 

Aura ran over to where Adam had been knocked down again, helping him back to his feet. "Adam, you've got to stop doing that!" she teased a little. Adam nodded, recognizing the tone in her voice. 

"I know, I'm starting to lose feeling down there!" 

Aura giggled as she whispered, "Azure would hate that!" she knew perfectly well Adam was turning a bright red under his helmet. 

"It's going to be a hot time in the city tonight!" came from behind the both of them. Aura and Adam whirled around to see a seven foot tall firebreathing monster staring at all of them. 

"Oh, man!" Aura groaned. 

Tommy glared at the monster. "Just what we didn't need today!" he declared. Aura nodded. 

"Tell me about it!" she pulled out the Ax of Earth. "When have we _ever_ needed one of those?" 

"When we didn't study for a test?" Rocky wisecracked. His jokes were halted, though, when the monster blasted them all with a torrent of flame. One and all, the seven of them dodged out of the way to safety. 

Tommy laughed as they reassembled in the hallway to catch their breath. "It's not that easy to catch the Power Rangers!" Tommy declared. The Melter Monster shook his head. 

"We shall see!" it laughed. Adam glanced over to the stairway. 

"Man, we've got to get them out of here!" he moaned. Aura nodded and headed towards them. 

"I'll take care of it," she promised. "Come on, you two, I'll get you out of here!" 

Azure nodded and headed out, after grabbing Justin. Aura followed, kicking and punching the occasional Piranatron that tried to get in their way. As they got outside, Azure glanced over at Aura. "Thanks!" 

"No problem, ma'am," Amber Ranger told her. "Now, my friends need me! You'll be safe out here, but you'd best get on home as soon as possible." 

Adam's car was just outside the Community Center, and she sat on the hood as the Ranger ran back inside. Justin stared after Aura, in total awe. "Wow. . .I. . .t. . that was a Power Ranger!" 

"Yes, that was one of them," Azure smiled at his enthusiasm. She supposed she would've been the same way if she'd met a Ranger at his age. 

"I actually met the Amber Ranger," Justin whispered, voice still full of complete and utter awe. 

Azure chuckled. "That was a thrill, isn't it?" 

"Have you met any of them before?" 

Azure nodded. "They've saved my life before, mine, and my sister's," at Justin's whispered 'woah', she continued, "I don't like talking about it, but let's just say I wouldn't be here if they didn't come to our aid. Mainly the Black and Amber ones, actually." 

"I want to be a Power Ranger when I grow up!" Justin declared. The half-smile on Azure's face vanished at that. 

"That's up to you," she said finally. "But there are other careers that you can choose also." 

Justin wasn't really listening to her, though. "They are so cool!" * * * 

The fight between the Melter Monster and the Rangers wasn't going well at all! Every so often it threw out jets of flames that came close to singing one or the other of them, though so far they'd been able to dodge before getting hit. Alpha had told them the creature was capable of generating more than enough heat to melt just about anything, and the patches on the wall where the flames had hit were mute evidence of that. 

"We're gonna be in deep trouble if one of those things hits us!" Kat groaned as they dodged yet another. 

"Then you're in deep trouble!" Melter exclaimed, powering up another fireburst before any of them could move. All seven of them were standing close together, supporting each other in their usual way, when the flames rolled over them. Each and every one roared, wailed, and screamed in raw pain. 

And then it was over. They looked at each other, eyes going wide and shivering as they realized what had happened. "No," Rocky whispered. "This isn't happening." 

"Uh, guys, I think we're in trouble," Adam declared, glancing at the totally unmorphed Rangers. "I think we are in _big_ trouble!" 

From behind the other six, Aura cleared her throat. "Guys," her voice was shaking. One and all, they turned, jaws dropping. 

Amber Ranger, still morphed and at full power, stood there. _That's right,_ they all remembered. _Aura's powers come from the Heart of the Earth, not from her Power Coin!_

"It looks like you're going to have to handle this one on your own," Tommy said almost reluctantly. He didn't like the idea of one Ranger fighting Divatox and whatever else she might have up her sleeve, but they didn't really have a choice. 

Aura nodded. "You guys get back to the Command Center, and find out what's happened," she told them, glancing over to where Melter was laughing over the destruction of the Power Coins. "I'll deal with laughing boy over there." 

"You got it," a moment later, Aura was the only one left there. _The Amber Rangers have always been solitary. Guess this is my time to prove that I can hack it alone!_ * * * 

Divatox's evil laughter echoed throughout the ship. "The Power Rangers are no more! Yes! Viva la Diva!" 

Elgar was peering through the periscope as Divatox danced around the ship in triumph. "Um. . .Auntie Di. . who's that?" he asked. Divatox stepped up and stared through it. 

"What in the _world_?" she didn't believe her eyes! One Ranger still stood there, fighting the Melter Monster! 

"I think that's a Power Ranger," Elgar blinked stupidly as he looked around the Subcraft. 

Divatox growled deep in her throat. "How? Which one is that? _Why_ didn't their powers get destroyed too?" 

Porto peered through the periscope, examining the uniform. "This could be the legendary Amber Ranger, Earth's chosen Ranger," he explained. 

"Well, at least we got rid of six of the little pests," Divatox gloated. "Now we just need to get rid of the last one!" 

Porto shook his head. "The only way to do that is to blow up the planet!" 

"_Not_ until I get all the treasure I want from this place!" Divatox declared, glancing around at the piles of treasure all over the bridge. "I don't have _nearly_ enough yet!" 

"Captain, the detonator Elgar planted is ready to go off," Porto told her. "Shall we see if she dies?" 

Divatox nodded; the Rangers had been so busy fighting off the Piranatrons, they hadn't noticed the detonator being planted! "Yes! Once that place is rubble, scan for any and all life signs. _If_ she lives. . .bring her to me, I'll deal with her myself!" 

"Will do!" Porto saluted and wandered off, ready to fulfill his orders at first opportunity. * * * 

"So one of you remains!" the Melter Monster glared at Aura as she circled it, Ax in hand. "Pity for you!" 

"You don't want to know how many people before you have said that! And you'll notice, _I'm_ still here, and they _aren't!" _

The monster laughed hideously. "Not for long!" was all Aura heard before there was a loud noise, and the entire world turned white and painful. * * * 

Azure smiled at Justin as he bounced around a little, very excited over his meeting with the Power Rangers. "Justin, you gotta calm down! I'm sure Adam will be here in a minute!" _this kid is a pure handful, but I like him already!! Hmmmm. ..have to get him to calm down. . .I know! _"What do you say I treat you to the biggest sundae imaginable for your bravery in there?" 

"Oh, that sounds great!" Justin stopped bouncing and stared at her with wide, joy-filled eyes. Azure grinned and reached out to ruffle his hair when a loud explosion distracted her. All she felt was a blast of heat and wind as she was thrown off the car, against a wall, and into unconsciousness. * * * 

As the Rangers arrived in the Command Center, Adam whirled to the Viewing Globe, snapping out an order for Alpha to turn it to the Community Center. Azure was still there, as was that boy she'd been with! Alpha quickly brought it up on the globe, and Adam's heart dropped to his knees as he saw the building explode! "Azure!" 

"Aura!" Billy whispered. _I knew we should've made her come with us! _"No!" 

Alpha fiddled with the controls. "I'm trying to get a lock on them!" he said. "I got two. . .teleporting now!" two figures formed in the room. "Um, I think I made a big boo-boo!" 

Justin looked around. "Woah, where are we?" he ran over to Azure as soon as he saw her; he'd only been knocked around a little by the explosion, she'd been hurt! "Azure, what's going on here!" he barely noticed she was unconscious. 

"You know Azure?" Adam asked. _That's the boy that was with her in the Center. I wonder who he is._

"We just met today," Justin nodded. "Who are you guys? Where _are_ we?" 

Adam glanced up at Zordon. "I think he should know," _he's already seen the Command Center, and I have a good feeling about him. I think we can trust him._

JUSTIN, WELCOME TO THE COMMAND CENTER, BASE OF THE POWER RANGERS. Zordon looked down at the young boy. 

"P. . .power Rangers?" 

Before anyone could say anything else, they were interrupted by a soft moan from Azure. "Adam?" he ran straight over to her. 

"I'm here, Azure!" 

"Where's Justin?" she asked as she opened her eyes. Justin was right beside Adam a second later; he didn't want to worry the new friend he'd made. 

"I'm here, Azure," he said in uncanny imitation of Adam. 

Azure smiled as she slowly began to sit up. "What happened?" 

"Looks like the place blew up," Adam reported nervously. _Aura's still there. She was morphed, I'm sure she's all right, our powers protect. . .protected. . .us from just about everything. _

Azure glanced around the room, noticing that not one of the Rangers there was morphed. That wasn't unusual, but with an effective stranger there, they should've been. "Why aren't you morphed, Adam?" she wondered. 

"Ummmm. . .," he cast brief glances at the others. "We can't." 

Azure's eyes widened. "What? Where's Aura?" _she can't have lost her powers, the planet still exists!_

"Still back there," Tommy whispered, eyes on Billy. The young genius was pale and shaking even as he worked the controls looking for his wife. 

Azure shook badly. "She was in the building when it blew, wasn't she?" 

Tommy nodded. "We're scanning for her now." 

"Find her!" Azure ordered. _I am not losing her. That is all there is to it. I am NOT losing my sister to anything, much less some stupid explosion!_

"Ay-yi-yi, we're working as fast as we can, Azure!" Alpha told her. Justin came closer to her, still looking around in pure awe. 

"You know these people, Azure?" Justin breathed. 

She nodded. "Justin, this is my husband Adam, my brother-in-law Billy, and our friends, Tommy, Kat, Aisha, and Rocky. Better known as the Power Rangers." 

"You asked where Aura was," Justin continued. "Who is she?" 

"My sister, the Amber Ranger," she looked at everyone else. "Guys, this is Justin." 

Justin stared at them all; he'd had no idea the Rangers would be this. . . cool! "Woah, this is incredible!" seemed to be the only thing his startled mind could produce. Azure tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. 

"Justin, you can't tell anyone what you saw here today, understand?" 

He nodded. "Oh, yeah, I know! This is still incredible, though!" 

Azure clenched her jaw as a bolt of pain shot up from her leg. "Calm down!" 

"You're hurt!" Adam ran for a first aid kit. "Let me help you!" 

Azure nodded as he started to wrap up her injury. "Find Aura, please!" * * * 

Divatox chuckled darkly as she gazed into the cage. Rygog and Elgar had actually done something_ right_. Once the Community Center had exploded, they'd searched the rubble of it after Porto had declared there was indeed a lifesign there, and they'd brought back the Amber Ranger! The explosion had demorphed her, but according to Porto's scans, her powers were still intact. That would fit in perfectly with Divatox's plans. 

"Wake that Ranger!" she bellowed, and was rewarded with Rygog throwing a bucket of ice water on the unconscious Ranger. Spluttering, she sat up, pulling dark hair away from gray eyes. "Good morning, Ranger," Divatox said mockingly. 

Aura wiped the water from her eyes and looked around. "What the. . .?" she stared straight into Divatox's eyes. "Who are you?" 

"I am Divatox, intergalactic pirate queen!" 

Aura ran her eyes up and down the purple-haired woman. _At least this supervillian isn't going to get obsessively and romantically fixated on me or Azure!_ "Who does your hair?" she said finally. 

"You like?" Divatox smiled a little as she touched her hair. Aura shook her head. 

"Actually, it looks like something was rather violently sick all over it," Aura said dryly. Divatox growled harshly. 

"Tell me, are you the legends about you true?" she asked finally. Aura raised an eyebrow. 

"Just what legends do you mean?" she wondered. "I didn't know there _were_ any about me!" 

Divatox chuckled. "The legends say the only time you win is when you have help. That you are nothing but a pathetic little patsy!" 

Aura looked down for a moment, then up again, courage in her eyes and voice. "I am Aura Robinson Cranston, the Amber Ranger, the sworn defender of the Earth, from a long line of Amber Rangers. I have defeated Rita, Master Vile, and Galan the Amber Ranger Hunter, and my sister destroyed Lord Zedd and his evil son Eric. I am not afraid of you, or anything you say to me." 

Divatox laughed. "Oh, but you _will_ be!" she promised. Aura smiled. 

"You supervillians always have the same lines," she drawled. "Okay, _why_ will I be afraid of you?" she asked, complete fearlessness in her eyes and voice. 

"You are the last of the Rangers," Divatox reminded her. "The others lost their powers, they went bye-bye!" 

Aura bit her lip, paling at that. "Billy," she whispered. _Be safe, my love. Be safe._

"Oh, and before I forget," Divatox tapped her fingers against her knee. "There were these two civilians outside that building. I don't think they made it, they were there for the explosion!" 

Aura surged to her feet, hands reaching through the bars of her cage in rage. "I'm going to kill you!" she screamed, rage flaring from every part of her. Divatox smiled evilly. 

"Did you know them?" 

"That was my _sister_, you. . ..," Aura lapsed into swearing at Divatox in Kalakan, using language _all_ of her parents would've hated to hear coming out of her mouth. 

Divatox finally interrupted her. "A pity. Who was the young boy, her son or something?" 

Aura shook her head. "A friend, I think, I didn't know him," she wasn't much caring anymore what she said, tears poured down her cheeks at the thought of her beloved sister dead. 

"Hey, Auntie Di!" Elgar piped up. "Whaddya gonna do with her?" 

"She is going to be my slave," Divatox almost purred the words out._ If I can't destroy her powers, then I'll control her! There will be no Rangers against me, none!_

Aura's head had been down as she cried, but at that, she jerked it up, eyes flaring. "Bull! I might be the last Ranger, but I'll _never_ be evil again!" _It was bad enough the first time, with Zedd!_

"Porto!" Divatox laughed. "Tell this prisoner what we have for her!" 

Porto stepped up with a spiked collar in his hands. He'd been working on it ever since Divatox had ordered the Amber Ranger captured. "This collar will give the captain complete control of you, Ranger!" 

Aura shivered, whispering over and over, "No, no, no! Not again!" 

"Put it on her!" Divatox ordered. "Piranatrons, hold her still!" as the door to the cage swung open, Aura backed away as far as she could, heart pounding. 

_I'm not going to let this happen._ "Amber Ran-" before she could finish the command, the Piranatrons grabbed her arms as one clapped a fishy hand over her mouth. Porto pulled her hair out of the way, then fastened the collar around her neck and activated it. 

Divatox waited for a moment, until Aura stopped struggling and stood up. "Tell me, Amber Ranger, whom do you serve?" 

Aura looked at her with cold, expressionless eyes. "You and only you, Captain Divatox." 

"Good!" Divatox smiled evilly. "Go down to what is left of the Community Center, wait for the former Rangers to come. Then _attack_!" 

Aura saluted. "As you command, Captain!" was all she said before teleporting away. Porto handed a key to Divatox. 

"This is the key to the collar, captain," he told her. "And there is no other way to get it off her neck!" 

Divatox nodded. "Perfect!" she declared. 

"Just think, Auntie Di, you've got your own Ranger to play with now!" Elgar laughed stupidly. 

"And no Rangers to contend with!" Divatox couldn't believe her good luck! This was truly going to be the _easiest_ time she'd ever had! * * * 

"Ay-yi-yi, I'm still having trouble locking down Aura's location," Alpha moaned as he ran back and forth in the Command Center. 

Rocky glanced over at Billy. "You okay?" he asked softly._ We all hate it when this happens, and Aura seems to be a prime target for it._

"I will be once we find Aura," Billy replied quietly. 

Azure grinned as Justin wandered around the Command Center, not touching anything, but absolutely fascinated by everything he saw. "You know who he reminds me of?" 

"Billy," Adam smiled a little as well; this kid was almost a miniature of their intelligent friend. A sudden 'ay-yi-yi' from Alpha caught their attention, though. 

"What is it, Alpha?" Azure asked, wincing as she tried to get up. Adam pushed her gently back to the table; her leg still wasn't fully bandaged yet. 

"I found Aura!" 

Billy whirled around at once. "Where?" 

Alpha checked the monitors again. "In what's left of the Community Center!" 

Billy was on his feet a second later. "Let's go!" he glanced over to Azure and Adam. His friend glanced back at him. 

"I'll stay here and get her leg fixed up," Adam told him. Azure chuckled a little as the Rangers teleported out. * * * 

"Where is she?" Tommy glanced around. This place was a _total_ disaster area, rubble everywhere. _That thing sure was POWERFUL!! I don't know how Aura lived through it, but I'm glad she did!_

Rocky glanced around, then saw Aura standing a few feet away, her back to them. She was still morphed, and apparently looking at something. "There she is!" 

"Aura!" Billy ran over to her. "Honey, are you okay?" 

She turned around. "I'm fine," something about her voice chilled them all, but Billy ignored it as he pulled her into a deep hug. 

"I was so worried about you! So was Azure!" 

"There's no need to worry about me," she said icily. "Worry about yourself instead!" 

Billy pulled away, staring at her. "What?" was all he had time to say before she kicked him in the stomach, with all her considerable strength behind it. 

"Worry about yourselves, ex-Rangers!" she hissed. 

"Aura!" Tommy yelled. "What has gotten into you?" speaking was apparently a bad move, as Aura launched herself towards him like a guided missile. 

"Do you even have to ask, Tommy?" she purred, seizing him by the collar and pulling him very close to her. 

Tommy shook his head. "We're not going to fight you, Aura!" 

"Too bad," she tossed him against Aisha, knocking them both down. "Because I'm going to fight you!" 

"We need to get out of here, _now_!" Rocky declared. Kat nodded, her hand in his. 

"Aura's going to kill us if we don't!" 

The evil Amber Ranger laughed with hideous glee as her former companions teleported away. "Run!" she mocked them. "Run and hide! You can never defeat my Queen Divatox! Ever!" * * * 

Divatox congratulated Aura when she returned to the Subcraft. "You did well, my Ranger! Now, we find some of the best places to pillage, and we _pillage_ them!" 

"The Angel Grove Museum has just received over two hundred million dollars worth of diamonds, my captain," Aura told her. Divatox smiled with evil glee. 

"Ohhhh, I like her!" she turned to Elgar. "Go pillage the museum, I don't want to overuse my new Ranger just yet!" 

Elgar nodded and teleported off with a batch of Piranatrons to do his aunt's evil bidding. Aura cleared her throat a little. "What do you wish of me next, captain?" 

"Rest for now," Divatox ordered. "I want to see what the Rangers do." _It should be interesting, and whatever they do, my Ranger can defeat! I've won already!_ * * * 

Adam and Azure looked up as the others teleported in. Tommy leaned against a console almost at once, something very like despair in his eyes. "Adam, it's just as well you _didn't_ come," he sighed. Azure ignored that, she only wanted to know one thing. 

"Where's Aura?" 

"Right now," Aisha looked very upset. "Probably with Divatox." 

"What?" Azure tried to get to her feet, only to have Adam tell her she shouldn't stand just yet; he was still working on the treating of her leg. 

Tommy closed his eyes, trying to forget the viciousness with which she'd struck. "She attacked us. Aura attacked us." 

"This is not happening again," Azure whispered, putting her head in her hands. _We've been through this before. Why again?_

Billy was visibly fighting back tears. "I'm afraid it is." 

"Why?" Azure leaned against her husband as Justin quietly watched everything. "Why can't they leave her alone?" 

Aisha glanced up at Zordon. "We don't have any powers or Zords, and for some unknown reason, Aura's working for Divatox, I'm praying she's under some kind of mind control, I don't think I could live with it or her if it was willingly. What _next?"_

I WILL CONTACT NINJOR, TO SEE IF THERE IS A WAY TO GET YOU POWERS AND ZORDS, BUT RANGERS, I FEAR THE WORST: THAT YOUR POWERS ARE TRULY GONE, FOREVER. 

"And Aura?" Billy asked quietly. 

I AM NOT SURE HOW DIVATOX CONTROLS HER, BILLY, BUT I DO NOT SUGGEST THAT YOU GO UP AGAINST HER WITHOUT YOUR POWERS. 

Billy whispered, almost to himself, "We have to get her back, I won't go through this again, I won't!" 

"Azure," Justin touched Azure's hand gently. "I'm sure she's going to be okay." 

Adam put an arm around Azure and nodded his agreement with the young boy. Azure glanced over at Billy, who was staring into space, eyes full of sadness and tears. "Why do I think he's the one who needs convincing, more than I do?" 

"Why is he so upset over this?" Justin wondered. "I mean, I know it's bad and all, but he's really taking this harder than any of you!" 

"Aura is his wife," Azure told him. Justin's eyes widened briefly, then he went over to Billy. 

"It'll be okay," he said. Billy only sighed in response, as Aisha also came over to him. 

"We'll find a way to get her back, somehow," she reassured him. Billy glanced at them both, managing to dredge up a small smile from somewhere. _I hope so. I hope so._

"Okay, Azure, I think you can get up now," Adam checked the dressing on her leg one last time. "But be careful!" 

Azure nodded, then slowly limped her way over to Billy. "Hey, she's made it through worse than this. We'll get her back, just like we always have before." 

Tommy nodded. "Every other time, we've always gotten her back, and we will this one too." 

"You're right," Billy agreed. "But before, we had our powers. Now? Now what do we have?" 

Aisha responded quickly. "Our love for her and hers for us. It has to be in her still, just buried under whatever Divatox is using to control her." 

"Maybe we should all go home and get some sleep. There is nothing we can do right now, not until Zordon gets an answer from Ninjor or Aura attacks again." 

Tommy nodded agreement to Azure's suggestion. "We could all use the rest." 

"Your car is toast, by the way," Azure told her husband. "And Justin needs to be taken back to where he lives." 

"My car," Adam groaned. "How am I going to explain _that_ to my insurance agent?" 

Tommy glanced over at the young boy so suddenly drawn into their lives. He felt a sudden chill, as if Justin was going to be more important than they realized at the moment, then shook it off. "Where do you live, Justin?" 

"The Little Angels Haven," Justin sighed, lowering his head at the mention of the orphanage. Azure took his hand gently and smiled at him. Billy looked over at him suddenly. 

"Want to see if you can come stay with me? I could use some help with the kids, until we get Aura back, and I would love the company, too," he suggested. Justin was practically jumping around the next second! 

"You mean it?" 

Billy nodded. I mean it!" 

Justin grinned. "Cool! I just hope my dad doesn't mind." 

"I don't think he will, it's just a visit," Billy grinned. "Come on, let's go see if you can stay!" 

"This is too cool!" Justin declared as they got ready to teleport out. 

Azure smiled. "Calm down, Justin," she advised. "Let's see if they let you!" but somehow, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that they would. * * * 

The next morning, Divatox gloated eagerly over the haul Elgar and the Piranatrons had brought in for her. Some of the local law enforcement had tried to stop them, but to no avail. "Look at all these jewels!" she declared, running her fingers through the diamonds. 

"And _I_ got them for you, Auntie Di! I did it!" Elgar congratulated himself. Divatox actually smiled at him, he'd done something right! 

"That you did!" she declared. "And you did such a good job, I might _actually_ let you live a while longer!" 

Aura glanced through the jewels casually; they didn't interest her. "The jewels are indeed beautiful, captain," was her only comment. Porto entered the bridge just then. 

"Um, captain?" 

"What is it, Porto?" Divatox half-ignored him, digging through the piles of jewels to find the largest of them all. 

"Pyris is coming to Earth!" 

She sat straight up, tossing the gemstones everywhere. "What?" 

Porto continued, "The keeper of the Turbo powers and the Phantom Ranger powers is coming to Earth, probably to give them to the Rangers!" 

"This must be stopped!" Divatox declared. "I went to a lot of trouble to destroy their powers, they _aren't_ going to get any new ones!" 

Aura stepped forward; this she could handle! "Might I be of assistance, my captain?" 

"Yes!" Divatox smiled. "Capture Pyris _before_ he bestows the powers onto those pesky Rangers!" 

Aura nodded her assent. "As soon as he lands on Earth, he will be yours, Captain!" 

"I like her," Divatox murmured to Elgar. "You know that, I really do!" 

"Uh, she does kinda grow on you, like a fungus!" Elgar said. When Divatox glared at him, he continued, "Uh, that was meant as a compliment!" 

Divatox pushed him aside and started thinking. "Let's see, we kidnap Pyris, now what to do with him _and_ the Turbo powers?" 

"Can the powers be destroyed?" Aura wondered. Divatox shook her head. "Then perhaps find somewhere to keep him where the Rangers will never find him?" 

"Right under their noses!" Divatox smiled; oh, she had _definitely_ made the right choice putting this Ranger under her control. 

Aura nodded. "Yes, perhaps the caves deep under the Command Center?" 

"They wouldn't even _think_ to look there!" 

"And if you wish," the Amber Ranger continued, "I could guard him personally so even if they _do_ find him, they won't free him! she laughed. "They're no match for me!" 

The pirate queen nodded. "Porto, once Pyris lands on Earth, send my Ranger to capture him!" 

"Yes, captain!" Porto saluted. The forces of evil simply couldn't fail this time! * * * 

Azure and Adam pulled up in front of the Cranston house. Rocky was baby-sitting again while they checked to see how Justin was fitting in with Billy's children. Azure felt a kinship with the young boy, and had since the moment she saw him almost. She wanted to keep an eye on him. 

"Billy," she asked as he let them in, "how is Justin?" 

Billy smiled a very little bit; but the sadness did not leave his eyes. "The kids love him. They have been asking where their mom is, though." 

"Have you told them?" Adam wondered. Billy shook his head. 

"I told them she had to go away for a little while, but that she'd be back soon." 

Azure sighed and left the two men behind to go see what Justin was doing. He turned to be playing with Alexander. Just as she came to the door, she heard him ask, "That's cool, where'd you get that?" 

"Mommy," Alex said, glancing down at his necklace. "And a friend of hers." 

Azure smiled as she came in. "I can't wait till you meet Aura. You'll like her." 

"You really love your mom, don't you?" Justin sounded a trifle sad, then turned to Azure. "Really?" 

"Yeah!" Alex nodded. 

Azure leaned against the wall to take the weight off her leg. "I'm sure that you and I are going to be seeing a lot more of each other, now that you are living with my brother-in-law," when they had went to see if Justin could stay with the Cranstons overnight, they had found that his dad had sent a message giving permission for Justin to be put in foster care until he returned permanently to Angel Grove, which could be for a while. It had taken a couple of quick white lies, mainly concerning where Aura was at the moment, but now Justin was a semi-permanent resident of the Cranston household. 

Adam came up behind her. "And you and I can work out some together!" 

"That's right, Azure says you teach martial arts!" 

"She also told me how she met you last night, practicing at the gym in the Community Center. By the way, you'll be glad to know, the damage is all fixable, it's just going to take some time. Everything should be back open with a month, two months at the latest." 

Justin grinned widely. "Good!" he glanced over to see Azure smiling, then went blank for a second, as Adam called out her name worriedly. 

"What about the Crisis Center?" 

Adam smiled. "It should be back up a bit sooner; they're going to be working extra hard on that part of it," he told her. Azure relaxed a little. 

"Jacklyn should be glad to hear that." 

Adam nodded, as he glanced over to Alex and Justin playing. Quietly he whispered to Azure, "You know, maybe the Spirit of Earth would know how to help Aura." 

"Maybe," Azure whispered in return. "But I don't want to involve Alex in this. Billy told them their mother was away." 

Adam nodded. "You're right. But if she's gone too long, we might have to, if we want to have any hope of getting her back." 

"What about Ninjor?" Azure thought suddenly of their strange friend. "He can get a hold of her can't he?" 

"Yeah, you're right!" Adam nodded. Justin glanced over to them. 

"What's so secret?" 

Azure grinned at him. "You'll understand when you're older," she promised. Justin blushed as Azure leaned over to whisper, "I hate lying to him." 

"Same here," Adam nodded. "Want to go tell Billy about this?" as Azure carefully got to her feet, Adam glanced over to the children. "Play nice you two!" 

Justin chuckled a little. "We will!" 

Adam and Azure smiled as they entered the living room, where Billy stared endlessly into a photo of Aura. He glanced up as Azure called out his name. "What is it?" 

"We need to talk, the three of us," Azure said as she hobbled over to him. 

"About what?" 

Adam spoke so that the children couldn't hear. "Aura, and how to get her back." 

"We don't even know how Divatox is controlling her," Billy reminded them. Azure nodded. 

"That's where Alex or Ninjor comes in." 

Billy frowned. "Alex? Nin. . .wait, you want to see if the Spirit of Earth can help her?" 

"It was Adam's idea," Azure nodded agreement. "Who better to help Aura than the Spirit?" 

Billy got to his feet. "Let's see if we can get in touch with Ninjor; so _he_ can get in touch with the Spirit!" 

"I'll stay here with Justin and the kids," Azure sighed as she made her way slowly to her feet. _I hope this leg heals soon, I'm worn out already!_

Billy nodded. "I'll let you know what we find out!" 

"You'd better!" Azure grinned, chuckled, and headed down to where Justin and Alex were. * * * 

Adam got down to business as soon as he and Billy appeared in the Command Center. "Zordon, we need to get in touch with the Spirit of Earth, do you think Ninjor will help us?" 

I HAVE BEEN IN CONTACT WITH NINJOR, Zordon told them. HE WILL CONTACT US SHORTLY. 

Adam sighed. "That's a relief, I hope. With us having no powers and Aura working for Divatox, the world is in _big_ trouble!" the news had been full of reports about how Divatox's minions had stolen the diamonds from the museum. 

I AM SURE THAT WE WILL WIN THE DAY, Zordon told them reassuringly. Ninjor appeared in the Command Center a moment later. 

"Rangers!" 

"Ninjor!" Adam and Billy chorused, as the other Rangers smiled in response. 

Ninjor waved to them all. "Rangers, I bring good news!" 

"Good news?" Billy asked concernedly. 

The Ninja Master nodded. "Pyris, the holder of the Turbo powers, is traveling to Earth, to bestow upon you your new Ranger powers. But I am afraid there are only five Turbo Chargers. One of you has been chosen for another type of power." 

"Who?" 

"It is unknown yet," Ninjor answered Tommy. "The power will know who that one is; this one is destined for this power." 

Adam stepped forward. "Ninjor, we need your help on something else." 

"What is that?" Ninjor glanced around. "Wait, there is one of you missing!" 

Billy whispered, heartbrokenly, "Aura." 

"What has happened?" Ninjor asked. "She did not die in the explosion?" 

"No," Adam shook his head. "But somehow Divatox is controlling her." 

Ninjor nodded slowly. "And you wish me to speak to the Spirit?" 

Adam nodded. "Maybe she can help figure out how Divatox is doing it, and figure a way to stop it." 

"Hold on," Ninjor told them, "let me get her!" a moment later, the Spirit appeared in the Command Center. 

"Rangers," she nodded in greeting; appearing a bit strained. 

Adam turned to her. " Spirit, we need your help!" 

"Aura is in great danger," the Spirit spoke softly. "I can sense it. What has happened to her? I cannot communicate with her, but she has not been cut off from me. It is almost as if she is ignoring me, and that cannot be!" 

"Somehow," Adam told her, "Divatox has control of her." 

"I will do what I can," the Spirit faded for a moment, then faded back in. She had a nervous look on her face unlike anything they'd ever seen before. 

"What is it?" Billy asked quietly. _What's with her?_

The Spirit took a deep breath. "It is a collar. One that can only be unlocked by a single key, that Divatox has." 

"Then somehow, we've got to get that key back!" Adam insisted. The spirit nodded. 

"I cannot remain long away from the Heart of Earth without Aura on the side of good, but send her to me when you have rescued her. I have a gift for her that I should have given long ago." 

"We will," Billy nodded as the spirit faded way. Tommy glanced to Ninjor. 

"When will this Pyris guy get here?" 

Ninjor glanced briefly around, eyes lingering momentarily on Adam. "He is close. And hopefully, he won't miscalculate his jump." 

"What could happen if he did?" Aisha wondered. "Where is he supposed to arrive, anyway? Here?" 

Ninjor told her, "If he miscalculated, he'll end up somewhere in Angel Grove. But yes, he is supposed to be coming straight here." 

"How can we make sure he lands in the right place? Or can we?" 

"You cannot," Ninjor replied to Aisha. "But I can input his life pattern into your sensors, so you can keep an eye out for him." 

Tommy nodded. "Please do." 

As Ninjor did that, he asked, "Other than Aura being controlled by Divatox, no other injuries of any kind, to anyone?" 

"Azure's leg," Adam reported. "But there's someone you should meet, if we ever get the chance, Ninjor. A new friend, we met him by accident, but he's a good kid." 

Ninjor nodded slowly. "I will meet him when all this is done." 

"I hope it _is_ done soon!" Adam spoke fervently. 

"It will be," Ninjor nodded, sad eyes on Adam briefly. Billy sighed, drawing their attention to him. 

"I wish she'd send Aura to do _something_, so I can at least see she's all right, if nothing else!" 

The Rangers understood his concern, as Ninjor stepped away from them. "I must go, I fear leaving the Temple unguarded for too long. But I shall be back," he vanished even as he spoke. 

"This isn't going good," Adam sighed. Tommy shook his head a little. 

"As soon as this guy Pyris gets here, things are going to change: for the better," Tommy insisted. 

Adam smiled a little. "Let's hope he gets here soon!" * * * 

A small ball of light appeared outside of Angel Grove two days later, landing and forming into a tall, dark-featured man wearing pale golden robes. He glanced around and frowned. "Dang it!" he muttered. he hummed to himself a little as he tried to get his bearings and figure out where he was. 

"Pyris?" the silken voice came from behind him, and he whirled to see a dark-haired woman there, dressed in Earth attire. Around her neck was an odd collar, and there was a coldness to her eyes that made him nervous. 

"Who are you?" Pyris asked. 

"Aura," she smiled nastily. "The Amber Ranger." 

Pyris smiled. "Ah, yes! I sort of miscalculated, can you help me get to the Command Center?" 

"Actually, I think you'd be much more welcome in my mistress Divatox's sub!" she grabbed him in a grip of raw steel. As he struggled, a gleaming ruby gem dropped from his grasp. 

"Find your true master!" he called to it, and in response to his words, it glowed and vanished. Aura laughed, a dark and evil sound. 

"Time to meet my mistress, Pyris!" she declared. As they teleported away, Pyris had time for one phrase only, uttered by countless others. 

"The Rangers will help me!" 

In the sub, Divatox took a long and evil look at Pyris, who struggled in Aura's grip. "What do you want with me?" he snapped. "The Turbo powers can't be used by anyone evil, you know that, Divatox!" 

The purple-haired pirate queen laughed. "It doesn't matter if I can use them, as long as the Rangers _can't!_" 

Aura's nails drove deeper into the prisoner's arms, who winced in pain. "Do you wish me to take him to the prison now, my queen?" 

Divatox nodded. "Yes, you have done well, my Amber Ranger. Here," she tossed a keyring to Aura. "That's got the key to the cell there. Keep an eye on him till I tell you otherwise." 

"As you wish," Aura bowed, then teleported out with Pyris, and the Powers he kept firmly away from them, to the caves under the Command Center. * * * 

The Rangers were in the Command Center, keeping their eyes peeled for Pyris. A strange, gleaming red light caught their attention suddenly. "What's that?" Tommy asked as a red gem came to float between them. 

THAT IS THE POWER RUBY, SOURCE OF POWER FOR THE PHANTOM RANGER, ONE OF THE POWERS THAT PYRIS IS BRINGING. SOMETHING MUST HAVE HAPPENED TO HIM, Zordon intoned. RANGERS, STAND IN A CIRCLE, IT WILL GO TO IT'S TRUE OWNER. 

The Rangers, a bit nervously, circled the gem, that bobbed and floated between them. It paused briefly by Aisha, then Adam, then charged straight for Billy, enveloping him in a flash of power. When the Rangers could see him again, he was covered head to foot in a sleek black uniform, almost like armor, with the ruby in the middle of his chest. 

"Woah!" Tommy was _impressed_. "Cool outfit!" 

Billy took it in, smiling a little. "Guess that means I have to face my wife, and get her back to us." 

"Woah, wait a minute!" Adam looked around suddenly. "Why did just _these_ powers show up? Where did Pyris land and why didn't the rest of them come?" 

Alpha quickly jumped to the computers. "Scanning!" he had the answer a moment later. "Ay-yi-yi!! It appears that Aura has kidnapped Pyris! He must dropped Billy's powers!" 

"Great!" Tommy groaned. "That means Divatox has the powers, and we don't!" 

THE TURBO POWERS CANNOT BE USED FOR EVIL, Zordon reminded them. ONLY THOSE OF GOOD CAN WIELD THEM. 

"But as long as she has them, we don't," Adam sighed. "And if we can't find where they're at, the world's in a lot of trouble!" 

"I'll continue to scan, but I'm not promising anything!" Alpha told them as he started back to work. 

Tommy nodded. "We've got one Ranger, that's a start!" 

"Let's hope we can soon _all_ have powers back," Adam said hopefully. _And hope we can defeat Divatox._

TAKE HEART, RANGERS, Zordon advised them. WE MUST NOT GIVE UP, NO MATTER WHAT. 

Adam nodded as he glanced over to Billy, who stood with his new helmet in one hand, staring into space. "We'll get her back," he said softly. 

Billy smiled briefly at him. "I know we will. 

"Yeah!" Tommy grinned. "Then we'll kick Divatox's rump right back to wherever it came from!" 

Adam nodded slowly. "Let's go. I think someone is going to be glad to hear that there is at least one Ranger out there, trying to get her sister back!" 

"Yeah," Billy smiled a little as they went. * * * 

Azure watched, smiling, as Justin played with Alex and Alaina. Billy and Adam had left that morning to talk with the Spirit and Ninjor, and she was beginning to wonder when they'd be back. "You're good with kids," she told Justin, who glanced over at her as she spoke. 

"These are good kids," he grinned, eyes widening as she heard a teleportation behind her. She turned to see Adam and Billy there, and smiled at them. 

"Azure! We have some good news!" Adam told her. Azure grinned, hoping for the best. 

"You got Aura back?" 

Billy sighed. "I wish we had, but not yet. We do have a better chance at it now," he held out his hand, in which there glimmered the Power Ruby. He'd quickly learned all he had to do to get it was think about it being in his hand, and there it was, ready to empower him. 

"You guys got your powers?" Azure smiled; that would at least give them a fighting chance! 

Billy shook his head. "Just me. Aura kidnapped the guy who has the others' powers, he dropped these apparently, and they found their way to me." 

"Great," Azure sighed as Adam came over to her. 

"We're looking for Pyris now," he reassured her. "And we'll get Aura back. We at least know how Divatox is controlling her." 

Azure almost didn't hear him as she leaned against his strong chest. "I just want my sister back," she whispered, then glanced up into his eyes. "How?" 

"A collar," Adam said. "Divatox has the key to it, and we're going to find a way to get it." 

"Soon, I hope." 

As they talked, Billy glanced over to his children, watching as they played with Justin. Alaina glanced back at him. "Daddy, is Mommy back yet?" she asked in her sweet childish voice. 

"Not yet," Billy shook his head. _How do you tell a couple of three year olds that their mother is being controlled by an evil pirate queen?_

Alaina slipped off the bed and toddled over to her father. "When is the purple-haired lady gonna let her go?" 

"What?" Billy couldn't believe his ears; he _knew_ Alaina hadn't heard them discussing Aura's predicament! How could she know? 

Alaina shrugged a little. "She's with the purple-haired lady. But she doesn't want to be, deep inside." 

"How do you know that?" Azure asked, drawn to the conversation. The reply startled them all. 

"I saw it in my head." 

Billy bit his lip and went down on one knee next to his daughter. "You saw it?" 

Alaina nodded. "The purple-haired lady put something here," she touched her neck, "and Mommy stared being really nice to her. But she was being _really_ mean just before that. I don't like the purple lady, she's mean: _very_ mean!" 

Azure glanced at the others. "Is she talking about Divatox?" 

"I think so," Adam shrugged. "But I've never seen her so I don't know," they glanced back as Alaina giggled suddenly. 

"The marshmallow man was funny, though!" 

Justin glanced over to them. "Marshmallow man?" 

"He was the one who made the thing they put on Mommy," Alaina told them. "He has a window for a face!" 

Azure looked into her niece's eyes. "What did he do that was so funny?" 

"He just _looks_ funny!" Alaina told them, growing a bit more serious. "But he's mean too. They all are. Even Mommy now." 

Azure came to sit next to her. "Your mommy will be better soon." 

"I know she will," Alaina spoke with uncanny certainty. "You're going to bring her home, Daddy." 

Billy nodded slowly. "I will do that," he glanced to Azure and Adam. "I think I need to talk to their grandmother about her." 

"I think you're right," Adam agreed as Justin joined them. 

"Guys, what's going on here?" he wanted to know. "I thought you said you didn't tell her what had happened to her mother." 

Azure shrugged a little. "We didn't. But it seems we didn't have to." 

"Don't tell me, let me guess, she's psychic?" Justin chuckled a little, as Azure smiled. 

"I think we need to tell you about this family," Azure smiled as she looked over at Billy. Justin looked to the newly made Phantom Ranger as well. 

"Other than the fact you and your wife are both Power Rangers, what's so unusual?" he asked. Azure watched as Billy smiled slowly. 

"How about the fact that Aura is an alien?" Billy managed to restrain himself from laughing at the expression in Justin's eyes. 

Justin took a deep breath. "Say what?" 

"Aura, my sister," Azure smiled, "is an alien from the planet Kalakan. Her and her mother are the only two surviving Kalakans left, to anyone's knowledge." 

"Woah. . .," Justin was shocked, to say the least. "Incredible! How'd she get to be your sister then?" 

Azure smiled. "She was adopted," she quickly explained the basics to Aura's history to the young boy, who commented, "This is _definitely_ an unusual family!" * * * 

Two days passed, without a sign from Divatox, Aura, or Pyris. Billy was teaching Justin how to work the Command Center computers, and it was obvious the younger boy was enjoying it to the fullest measure. Billy sighed as he ran a check yet again. "Where are they?" 

"They've got to be around here somewhere," Adam sighed. Azure nodded briefly. 

"We'll find them," she reassured everyone. She'd kept everyone's spirits up the past forty-eight hours, insisting they would succeed, no matter what. 

Tommy agreed with her. "We have to." 

"Ranger?" they all whirled to see Ninjor standing there. "Why have you not taken your Turbo powers?" 

Rocky sighed deeply. "Pyris is missing, thanks to Aura," he glanced to Billy. "But he dropped something." 

"So you were the one those powers were meant for," Ninjor nodded approvingly. "Let me try something quickly, I am somewhat connected to Pyris," the Rangers watched as Ninjor glowed blue briefly, then laughed as he returned his gaze to them. "Divatox has surely put Pyris in the last place we would have thought to look!" 

Tommy stepped up. "What is it? Where is it?" 

They were surprised to see Ninjor point to the floor. "Under here!" 

"What?" every Ranger, Azure, and Justin all chorused. Ninjor chuckled. 

"Where is the one place you would not have thought to look?" 

Billy grinned. "_Under_ the Command Center!" 

"Exactly!" Ninjor congratulated him. "And Aura is with him!" 

The Phantom Ranger took a deep breath. "This isn't going to be easy." 

"I will go with you," Ninjor promised. "It is imperative that we get you these powers!" 

Billy nodded. "And maybe we can get some clue on how to get that collar off her," he whispered the next part only to himself. "I want my wife back." 

Aura smiled as she hobbled over to him; she'd heard him, being the closest to him. "You will, and soon." 

"Let's do it!" Billy declared. A moment later, he and Ninjor were gone, on their quest to rescue Aura, Pyris, and the Turbo powers. * * * 

Deep under the Command Center, Pyris gazed into the box where the Turbo Chargers rested. His jailer laughed at him. "They're going to stay here and rot, just like you!" 

Pyris looked at her. "And you'll probably be staying with me, right?" 

"Until Queen Divatox orders otherwise, yes." 

He laughed. "If I know Divatox, that means forever!" 

"If that is what she wants," Aura shrugged. "That's what I do." 

Pyris shook his head. "I guess what is said about you is false, then." 

"What is said about me?" 

The keeper of the Turbo powers smiled a little. "That you are a true and noble warrior, who aids her family and her friends when need be. That you are the mother of four extremely beautiful children. . .well, that part is probably right, and your two firstborn shall do great things in the future!" 

Aura looked thoughtful, memories of her family flowing through her mind for the first time in three days. She almost didn't notice Ninjor grabbing the keyring off the wall where she'd put it, just out of Pyris' reach. She whirled around, growling, "Put those back!" 

Ninjor laughed. "Nope, sorry, can't do that!" 

Aura leaped over to stand between them and the cell door. "You might _have_ the keys, but I'm not going to let you near him to use them!" she was suddenly seized from behind, in a powerful grip even she couldn't break. "What the? Let go of me!" 

"Never!" Billy's voice whispered in her ear as Ninjor told him to remove her helmet. As he did so, Ninjor came closer, pulling her hair to the side and unlocking the collar with it. 

"You are free, Aura Cranston!" he proclaimed as he pulled the collar off her. Aura went limp, her eyes closing. A moment later, they opened, and once more were the same glittering gray they had always been. 

She glanced around. "The. . .the Melter Monster. .. where is it?" the last thing she remember was the battle, the explosion. . . 

Billy touched her hand. "We haven't heard from it since the Community Center blew up. We believe it perished in the explosion." 

"What happened?" Aura glanced around, trying to get her bearings. "How'd we get here?" 

"Divatox," Billy told her, as Ninjor opened up the cell. "She was controlling you through that collar." 

Aura shivered as she leaned against him. "Why can't they leave me alone?" she whispered as Pyris emerged from the cell. 

"Thank you, friends," he told them, holding out his box of chargers. "I believe there are five Rangers waiting for these!" 

The Amber Ranger glanced to Pyris, biting her lip. "I remember, a little of what happened," her mind was mostly blank of the last three days, after the explosion, but a few things slipped through. "I'm sorry." 

"Why need to be sorry?" he asked. "It was not you, it was Divatox. But if forgiveness is what you wish, I forgive you." 

"Thanks," Aura smiled as Billy took the Turbo Chargers' box. Ninjor cleared his throat a little. 

"Let us away," he said, a trace of sadness in his voice. Billy glanced at him worriedly. 

"Is something wrong?" 

The ninja master didn't meet Billy's eyes. "Something that I cannot tell you of yet, but you will know of it soon," he said nothing more as they teleported back. * * * 

Azure would have been pacing back and forth if her leg had been up to it. "Come on!" she insisted to the air, just as four people teleported in. "Aura!" she broke away from Adam, who had been holding her, and did her level best to run to her. 

"Hey, Azure!" Aura smiled as she hugged her. "What happened to your leg?" 

Azure shrugged a little. "Divatox's little detonator. I was sort of out in the parking lot when it went off, so was Justin," she gestured over to the young boy, who waved to her. Aura smiled. 

"Gee, I get turned evil for a couple of days, and when I come back, we have a new face hanging around the Command Center!" 

Pyris cleared his throat. "Rangers, it is time. Circle me and receive your Turbo powers," as they circled him, he took the first Charger from the box Billy held. "It is time for you to accept all that comes with the Turbo powers. The Zords that go with them have already been teleported to the Holding Bay. Tommy," he called the leader's name. "Your new power is that of Red Lightning. I know that Rocky has been the Red Ranger for sometime now, but it is yours now." 

Tommy stared at the gleaming red chargers in his hands, and smiled as Pyris turned to Rocky. "Rocky, you now hold the Mountain Blaster power, and are the Blue Turbo Ranger," next was Adam. "Adam, your power is that of Desert Thunder, and once again, there is a Green Ranger." 

Kat and Aisha grinned as their turns came. "You two are the only ones with new powers to keep your former colors!" Pyris told theme. "Aisha, you are the Yellow Turbo Ranger, with the power of the Dune Star." 

She smiled as she slipped the Chargers on, then watched as Pyris turned to Kat. "Kat, you are the Pink Ranger, with the power of the Wind Chaser." 

Kat grinned. "Pink is _always_ in!" 

Pyris nodded, then looked at the entire group. "Rangers, you are worthy of these powers, I know, and I am glad to have given them to you, thus discharging the duty I have held for so long. I have one last gift for you, though," he smiled a little in anticipation. 

"What?" Tommy wondered. 

"A new Command Center!" Pyris waved his hand, causing a blinding light to fill the room. They could hear things shifting around them, then when they could see again, they were in a wider room, with a much larger selection of computers and scanning and examining equipment. "Behold, the Power Chamber!" he declared. They stared in awe, not believing their eyes. 

"This place is incredible!" Billy breathed. _The things I could do here!_

Adam nodded. "It sure does have a lot more room!" 

"Incredible seems like an understatement!" Azure looked around. Rocky agreed completely. 

"This place is _absolutely_ huge!" 

Ninjor cleared his throat. "Rangers, Divatox is a more ruthless villain than any you have ever dealt with before. Be careful," his eyes were on Adam as he spoke. He wished he could tell them what he knew, but was bound not to. _Curse these oaths at times!_

Aura shivered briefly; she couldn't remember everything that had happened while she'd worn Divatox's collar, but she knew enough to be terrified. "She's hideous!" she sighed a little. "How long have I been gone? I know it's been some time at least." 

"Three days." 

Aura looked concerned as Azure spoke. "The kids! I've got to go to them, they need to know I'm all right!" 

Billy managed to suppress a laugh. "Oh, I'm sure Alaina's already told them that you are." 

"How would she know?" 

Azure told her, "It seems she takes after her grandmother." 

"A sorceress?" she smiled as Billy nodded. "My little girl. . ." 

"_Our_ little girl!" her husband gently reminded her. Aura leaned against him, smiling a little, the horror of the past days fading away. It was a new beginning. * * * 

Divatox stormed onto the bridge, in a _foul_ mood. "Who put the key to the collar on that keychain?" she demanded. Elgar looked up. 

"Uhhhh, that was me, Auntie Di, I figured no one would find it there! What's the problem?" 

"That Amber Ranger got free!" Divatox screamed. "And now those power pukes have their Turbo powers!" 

Elgar blinked slowly. "How'd that happened?" 

"They snuck in, got the keys, let her go, and then let Pyris out!" Divatox screamed at the top of her lungs. "Now I've lost my prisoner, I've lost my Ranger, and the Rangers have their powers!" 

Elgar shrugged a little. "Oh, well, it's not so bad! You still got me!" he told her. The pirate queen stared at him. 

"Don't remind me!"

**The End**


	44. Fallen Amber

**Fallen Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

Three weeks had passed since Aura had been freed from Divatox's control. Billy was starting to worry over her; she hadn't spoken a single word about what had happened to her while she'd worn the collar; and the one time he'd pressed her for answers, she'd told him flatly she didn't remember anything except for taking Pyris. The tone she'd spoken in had discouraged him from further inquiry into the matter. 

The repair work on the Community Center had proceeded very well, and it was almost ready to reopen. Azure and Adam were there that day helping to fix up the last few things, and were supposed to come to the Cranstons that night for dinner. 

Aura and Billy sat on their front porch, watching their children play. Aura had been silent all morning, her eyes distant and thoughts even more distant. Billy wished she'd talk to him; she hadn't been this silent and cold in years. 

He turned to watch the twins play, smiling a little at their innocence. _Alex is going to be the Amber Ranger after Aura. And Alaina seems to take after Shaya. I wonder what little Shaya and William will be like._ 

As Billy watched, Alaina stiffened suddenly, her eyes growing distant as a vision flowed before them. Her older brother looked at her a bit nervously; even at three, the twins knew they were different from most children. Alaina saw what was to come, and Alex would one day be responsible for the defense of the planet. 

"Alaina?" he asked, worried over her. He jumped when she screamed out a denial of something. "Mommy, Daddy!" he called, and almost before the words were out of his mouth, Aura and Billy were over there. 

"Alex, Alaina?" Aura was worried when she saw her elder daughter shaking in tears. Whatever had happened, it obviously had terrified Alaina. 

"What is it?" Billy wondered. Aura knelt down by Alaina. 

"What's going on? Alaina?" she held her in her arms. "Alaina, honey, what is it? Did you see something?" 

"Uncle Adam," Alaina cried. "He fell. . .down long tunnel!" she wrapped her small arms around her mother's neck and held her. Aura glanced to Billy, worry in her gray eyes. 

"Alaina, honey, can you tell us anything else?" he asked. 

Alaina thought for a few moments. "He was falling. Then I couldn't see or hear him." 

"Could you tell where he was?" Aura wanted to know. When Alaina couldn't, Aura did her best to comfort her. "It'll be okay, Alaina. It'll be okay." 

"I wanna talk to Uncle Adam! Wanna make sure he's okay!" she was trembling in fear. Aura thought for a moment; Adam and Azure were both at the Community Center, helping with the last bit of organization it needed before reopening. 

"All right, we'll go over there right away," Aura decided. 

"Thank you, Mommy!" Alaina smiled a little as Aura started towards the house to get ready. She wouldn't let her beloved uncle fall!   
  


* * *

  


Divatox stomped angrily around the bridge of the Subcraft, eyes blazing with rage. She threw herself into her throne-chair and glared around the room. "I'm bored!" she said petulantly. Elgar, playing with his pet flying fish, looked up. 

"I wanna pillage!" 

Divatox got up and stared through her periscope at Angel Grove. "There's some very fine jewelry on display at the Angel Grove Museum, and I want it!" 

"But those Rangers will try to stop you again!" 

She pouted some. "I know! It wasn't like that when I had my own Ranger!" 

"Captain, may I suggest something?" 

Divatox glanced over to her science officer. "What is it, Porto? And it had better be good!" at Porto's suggestion, the pirate smiled. "Oh, that is a very good plan! I'm glad I thought of it! Prepare Lampster at once, and send him to that place I blew up when we first got here. The Green Ranger and his wife are there; that should draw the others in no time!"   
  


* * *

  


Azure and Adam worked quickly getting things back in order at the Community Center. "You're a big help!" Azure smiled at Adam as they worked. 

"I do what I can," Adam told her. Azure smiled a very little. 

"I know. I wish Jacklyn hadn't gotten sick," she sighed; she missed her friend a great deal. Adam put a hand on hers. 

"She's going to be well again in a little while, Azure." 

"I know," Azure sighed. She looked up as the sound of a car came from outside. "What are they doing here?" 

"Who is it?" 

"Aura and Alaina," she could see her niece a little better, since the little girl was running towards the building as fast as she could. "And it looks like Alaina's been crying. Adam, you may want to come here." 

Adam came over to her. "Wonder what's wrong?" 

Alaina ran straight over to him as she practically blew the doors off coming inside and hugged his legs. "Uncle Adam!" 

"Alaina!" Adam bent down a little. "Alaina, have you been crying?" 

"You okay?" the little girl asked, staring up at her uncle. Azure glanced over to her sister, confused, until Aura whispered a quick explanation to her of what Alaina had seen. "You didn't fall?" 

"No, I haven't fallen," Adam shook his head as Alaina held him as tightly as she was capable. Suddenly, a loud bang from upstairs interrupted them. 

"What was that?" Azure glanced up and frowned. 

Aura shook her head. "I don't know," she looked over to Adam. "Let's go find out." 

"Alaina, stay with Aunt Azure," Adam told the little girl. "I'm going with your mommy to check on the noise." 

"Let's go, Adam," Aura and Adam carefully crept up to the second floor, while Azure and Alaina stayed in what would hopefully be safety. Once up there, they separated, Adam checking the right side of the storage room the noise had come from, while Aura investigated the left. Adam heard something else coming from behind a pile of boxes and quickly peeked behind it. He growled softly to himself as he saw a monster happily trashing things up there. _It's only a matter of time till it goes on downstairs; I'm surprised it hasn't already! Well, that's not going to happen!_ 

"Aura!" he whispered, catching her attention with a quick movement. "I found it!" as soon as she saw what it was, she swore under her breath, though she also couldn't keep herself from chuckling a little. _It's got a lamp on it's head! I don't believe this!_ 

"Just great," she muttered. After all, she had to at least look like she was taking this thing seriously, no matter how much it made her want to laugh. 

"Think we'd better morph?" 

Aura nodded. "Let's do it!" she paled a bit as the monster saw them. "It's morphin' time! Amber Ranger Power!" 

"Shift into Turbo!" Adam called out the other Rangers' new call. "Desert Thunder Turbo Power!" 

The creature laughed at them as it charged. "I am Lampster, and it's time for you Rangers to see the light!" 

Adam fell back a bit as Aura blocked the creature's attack. They could both see this thing was too tough for two Rangers on their own. "Guys, trouble at the Community Center!" he snapped. 

"On the way!" he heard Tommy saying. He glanced over just in time to see Aura take a nasty chop to the neck. "Aura!" he jumped over to her aid. 

"Thanks!" she took a moment to catch her breath while Adam dealt with Lampster for a few moments. As she charged back to the fight, the other Rangers teleported in, fresh and ready for a fight. 

Things got somewhat hectic after that, especially when a round dozen Piranatrons showed up to help the monster out. The Rangers traded blows with the minions of evil in their usual fashion, until Aura spied Lampster drawing a bead on her with it's interior lamp. _I don't know what that thing can do, but I'm not taking any chances!_ She dodged just as it blasted at her with the lightbeam, and laughed at by how far it had missed her. 

She stopped laughing when she heard Adam screaming. As fast as she could move, Aura ran to the window she'd seen Adam fighting near and glanced down. The Green Ranger was holding onto the ledge with all his strength. "I've got you, Adam!" she said, grabbing his wrists. 

"Hurry, Aura!" he cried as she started to back up, pulling him in. "I can't hang on any longer!" 

She grunted; Adam was a lot heavier than he looked! "You need to go on a diet!" she growled. Something caught her eye across the street, and as she realized what it was. . .the blood drained from her face. . . 

And her grip on Adam's wrists slipped and loosened.   
  


* * *

  


The first hint Azure had that something was wrong was when she heard Adam screaming from the second floor. She ran outside and looked up, only to see a figure falling. Something small dropped from him as he did, and in a flash of green light he demorphed. Azure's heart nearly stopped when she heard him hit the ground. That sort of fall would normally have done nothing to a morphed Ranger, and wouldn't have been too bad even for a normal person. But Adam hadn't fallen well, and had landed even worse. 

She ran to Adam as fast as she could when she saw him hit the ground, her heart in her throat. _Oh, God, please let him be all right!_ She dropped to her knees, hardly noticing Billy calling an ambulance. "Adam? Answer me! Please!" 

Adam's eyes flickered slowly. Alaina ran up beside her aunt and stared at the fallen Ranger. "Uncle Adam fell!" 

Azure glanced at Alaina, the little girl had told her in as much detail as she could about the vision while they'd waited for word from Aura and Adam. "Your vision?" she looked up as Aura emerged, demorphed, and absolutely white and shaking. Azure knew she was probably much the same way herself. "Her vision. . it. . it. . .," she couldn't keep going, choking on her own tears. 

Aura nodded a little. "I know, Azure." 

"What happened?" Azure almost screamed. "How did this happen?" 

"Azure. . .," Aura could barely get the words out. "I. . the monster. . .I. .. " 

Azure looked at her sister, frowning. "You what?" 

"I dropped him," Aura whispered. "I didn't mean to, but when. . . " 

"You let him fall?" Azure's voice dripped ice a moment later as she looked at her semi-conscious husband. 

Aura's eyes were filled with pain and regret. "I'm sorry. . .I. . ." 

"Later," Azure shook her head as she brushed some of Adam's hair out of his face; his Turbo Charger had fallen off at the absolute worst time. "Adam, honey? can you hear me?" 

"A. . .Azure?" Adam's eyes flickered a little. Azure smiled. 

"You're going to be all right!" she reassured him. "The ambulance is on it's way." 

Adam whispered softly, "The monster. . ." 

"It left," Tommy told him. Adam nodded a little, closing his eyes. Words couldn't say how much he hurt right then. The sound of the ambulance grew closer; Azure never let go of his hand as she waited. _He's got to be all right. He just has to be!_   
  


* * *

  


Azure paced back and forth in the hospital waiting room, worried and upset. She'd been waiting for any word on Adam, and the Rangers, since she'd gotten there. She glanced up as Tommy rushed in and over to her. "Any word yet?" the other Rangers were hot on his heels. 

"No," she glanced at the Rangers behind him. "What happened up there, how did this happen?" 

Aisha gave her the quick version. "The monster shot some sort of beam at Aura, it missed her hit him, knocked him out of the window. Aura went to grab him, then she let him go. I couldn't be sure why, couldn't see her face." 

Azure turned to stare at her sister. "You let him go?" 

"I'm sorry," Aura whispered, shock still evident in her eyes. Azure sighed, angry at all of them for the first time. 

"Mrs. Park?" she glanced up as the doctor called her. 

"How is Adam?" she wanted to know at once. 

The doctor shook his head. "Not good," the list of injuries was extensive; broken ribs, a broken arm, sprained wrist, a few internal injuries, and partial paralysis. 

"Paralysis?" 

The doctor nodded. "It should be temporary, we don't know yet." 

Azure took a deep breath. "Can I see him?" 

"Yes," the doctor nodded. "He's in room 324." 

Azure shot one last glare at Aura, then headed down the hallway to her husband's room. No one heard Aura's soft whisper. 

"I remember." 

Billy cleared his throat a little. "Guys, I hate to make a mention of this, but with that Lampster still out there, we're going to need a new Green Ranger." 

Tommy nodded, glancing at Aura. "Hope we don't need a new Amber one, if there could be one." 

"Um, guys, I have a suggestion, and it's very unusual!" 

Rocky glanced at her. "What is it, Aisha?" 

Aisha checked to be sure no one was near enough to hear her, then said softly, "Justin." 

Tommy's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "That is very unusual. He's a great fighter, but I don't know about using someone so young on the team." 

"But anyone else we'd have to tell them about the Rangers, and we couldn't be sure if we could trust them right away. We know we can trust Justin." 

Tommy sighed and glanced down the hallway. "Okay, but somehow, I don't think we want to tell Azure about this."   
  


* * *

  


Divatox laughed horrendously as she watched the Rangers through her periscope. "This is just too good! The Green Ranger's in the hospital, and the Amber one was the one who let him fall!" 

"What is your next plan, my captain?" Rygog asked eagerly. 

"To retrieve my Amber Ranger!" she chuckled. "And so far, everything is working out perfectly 

"This shall be wondrous, captain!" Rygog declared. Divatox laughed again, she enjoyed toying with the Rangers' minds so very much. She quickly barked out her orders to the Piranatron swarm she summoned up, then sat back in her throne. 

Nothing could go wrong with this plan.   
  


* * *

  


Azure quietly stepped into the hospital room, hating the sounds of the heart monitors as they beeped. They reminded her too much of when she and Aura had spent time in hospitals; too many times when they'd been hurt somehow. "Adam?" she whispered softly. 

"Azure?" Adam glanced over at her, smiling. Azure sat next to her, laying a hand on his leg. "I was so worried!" 

"I'm gonna be okay," he tried to reassure her. Azure wiped away a tear in her eye. 

"Yeah," was all she said. Adam looked at her, he knew something was wrong. 

"Azure, what is it, why are you crying?" 

Azure glanced down at her hand, and trembled a little. "Adam, can you feel where my hand is?" 

"It's. . .," Adam paused as he realized he couldn't feel her hand. "I. . .no. . .." 

Azure hated what she had to say next. "Adam, you might not be able to walk again." 

"No. . .," Adam whispered the words. "No!" 

She held onto his hand. "Adam, do you remember what happened?" 

"I remember. . .," Adam thought for a moment. "Aura grabbing my wrists, she was pulling me back in, then. . .then. . ." his eyes clouded with anger and fear. 

"What?" 

"She dropped me." 

Azure bit her lip, feeling her rage against her sister coming back. "Adam, I wish I knew what to tell you, why Aura dropped you. But I have no answers to give!" 

"Where is she?" Adam wondered. "Has she said anything?" 

"She's out in the waiting room, and no, she hasn't said anything." 

Adam looked hurt, with more than just the pain in his back. "Nothing? That's not like Aura! Then again, neither is dropping a friend out of a window!" Azure flinched at the hate in his voice. 

"I don't know what's going on with her. She's been acting really strange since you guys got your Turbo Powers!" 

"You don't think she's jealous or something, do you?" Adam looked at his wife carefully. 

"Why?" Azure wondered. "She never lost her powers." 

Adam nodded. "No, but she was with Divatox for a while. Who knows what else could have happened to her before she had that collar put on her?" 

Azure glanced towards the door, frowning. "You don't think that she. . ." 

"What?" he whispered. 

"That she is still under Divatox's control?" 

"How?" Adam wondered. "We destroyed the collar." 

Azure nodded. "Like you said, who knows what happened to her before. . I. . .," she stared at him for a few moments, nervous and upset. 

"Azure, what is it?" 

His wife sighed deeply. "I just wish we had taken Alaina more seriously about her vision of you falling." 

"Me too," Adam looked concerned. "Maybe Alaina can help us figure out what's wrong with Aura." 

Azure shrugged. "I hope so!" she smiled a little. "Maybe she can also figure out if you're going to stop being lazy and get out of that bed!?" 

"Hey, I deserve some rest!" Adam chuckled. 

"Yeah!" Azure smiled at him. "I bet you just want to get out of helping me out around the Community Center," she got serious a moment later. "Adam, what are we going to do if you can't walk again?" 

Adam reached out and took her hand. "I don't know, Azure. I really don't know." 

"I'm so scared," she whispered, holding his hand a little tighter. 

"How are you feeling, Adam?" they glanced up to see Billy standing in the doorway. 

Adam glanced over to his friend. "Kind of a stupid question considering what just happened." 

"True," he nodded. "You'll be out of here soon, with luck." 

Adam sighed. "True, in a wheelchair." 

"Until you get the right therapy," he almost did a literal doubletake. "Wheelchair?" _I didn't know he knew!_ 

Azure stood up. "Adam, I'll let you two talk for a while." 

"I know," Adam told Billy. "I can't feel my legs, and somehow, I don't think therapy is going to do me any good right now," he glanced to Azure. "Hurry back!" 

As Azure left, Billy sat down next to his friend. "Maybe not right now, but soon." 

"What are my chances of feeling my legs again?" Adam wondered. " That was a pretty nasty fall I had there." 

"I know," Billy nodded. "And I'm not sure, but the doctors are going to do everything they can," he whispered, "and so will Alpha and Zordon." 

Adam glanced to his friend. "My Turbo Charger. You have it, don't you?" 

Billy nodded. "It's safe. Is there anyone in particular you want us to give it to until you're ready to come back?" 

Adam glanced away. "No one," his eyes filled with tears and sorrow. "Whomever you find, you may just want to keep them." 

"Adam," Billy said, warningly and carefully. 

His friend turned around to look at him. "Billy, we both know that there is a good chance I'll never walk again." 

"And if you do?" 

"What good am I going to be to the team?" Adam asked bitterly. He had never felt so helpless in his life, never! 

"Once you get your strength and skills back, you'll be just as good to us as you've always been!" 

Adam sighed and was quiet for a few moments. Finally, he asked, "What happened out there today?" 

"You fell," Billy told him. "Aura tried to pull you back in, and. . .." he stopped. 

"Let go?" Adam asked softly. When Billy nodded helplessly, Adam sighed. "Has she said why?" 

"She's hardly said anything since it happened," Billy told him. "She won't talk to anyone, about anything." 

Adam glanced to the door. "Why do I think I know now where Azure went?" 

Billy sighed. "I don't know what's wrong with Aura; she's never been like this. Except. . ."" 

"What?" 

Billy sighed in remembrance. "Except that one time, just before we found out she's the Amber Ranger. When she shut me out of her life, completely. Ever since then, we've been inseparable. Most of the time. But now. . ." 

"When she didn't want anyone else to get hurt? Billy, I don't know what's going on, but someone needs to get Aura's side of the story!"   
  


* * *

  


Azure stormed into the waiting room and straight over to her sister. "Aura, we need to talk." Aura glanced up at her, then looked away again, unwilling to meet her eyes. "Now!" she snapped. Aura sighed and got up. 

"All right." 

"Outside!" Azure walked with her sister outside, for once in her life, ready to hurt her. "What in the name of the Spirit of the Earth possessed you to let go of Adam?" she growled. 

"I. . I. . s. .I just lost my grip!" Aura replied, voice shaking. _Can't tell them what happened; they'd never understand! How could they?_ 

Azure sighed. "That's not like you, Aura." 

"That's what happened." 

"Why didn't you tell anyone sooner?" Azure wondered, scared out of her mind at recent events. 

"No one asked!" Aura practically growled. Azure turned away, looking hurt. 

"I'm sorry," she sighed. "I shouldn't have snapped." 

Aura nodded fiercely. "Right! You shouldn't have!" without another word, she marched off, to all outward eyes, furious. Azure watched her go, sighing. 

_I think I was right. She is being controlled somehow._   
  


* * *

  


Azure quietly walked back into her husband's room. Billy was still there, talking quietly as she re-entered. He looked up as she did so. "Azure, what is it?" 

"Something I hope I'm dead wrong about." 

"Azure?" Adam glanced worriedly at her. 

Billy almost stood up. "Azure, what is it? Were you talking with Aura?" 

"I think Aura might still be under Divatox's control, even if she doesn't know it." 

Adam swore under his breath as Billy spat out a heated denial. "How often have you known Aura to lose her grip?" Azure asked. Billy shook his head. 

"Never. I don't think it's possible." 

Azure sighed. "That's what she told me, and you all told me that it looked like she let go of Adam. Billy, I know you don't want to face this, but Aura may still be under Divatox's control." 

"No!" Billy shook his head, then sighed. He knew it was possible; they knew so little of how Divatox worked. "How. .how could it be?" 

Azure sighed. "I wish I knew. But something inside tells me that it just might be possible." 

"I wish I'd been able to see her face when I fell. Maybe I could've told then. . .," Adam sighed. Azure placed a hand on Billy's shoulder. 

"Maybe Zordon can tell us for sure. On both what happened, and about Aura." 

"What are we going to do if she is being controlled?" Billy wondered. 

"Where is she now, Azure?" Adam asked before his wife could answer. 

"I don't know," Azure shrugged. "She got really mad at me and stormed off." 

Billy's eyes went wide. "Aura got mad at you?" 

"I think so," Azure really couldn't believe it herself. "I've never seen her mad at me before, so I don't really know." 

"Maybe I should go talk to her," Billy was troubled over this, troubled greatly. 

"Be careful," Azure advised. "She's not in a good mood." 

Billy nodded and left as Azure sat back down next to Adam. "I hope we're wrong," he sighed. Azure nodded. 

"So do I."   
  


* * *

  


Aura lay curled up in the crook of a tree, tears streaming down her cheeks. _I don't believe this is happening. Azure doesn't trust me; she thinks I deliberately let Adam fall. Adam probably hates me. Billy. . . who knows what he feels about this? And I can't talk to them about it, I can't say anything, they'd never believe me, they'd be so ashamed of me. Like I'm ashamed of myself._ She sighed a little, then stiffened as she heard Billy's voice calling her name. She slipped out of the tree, drying her eyes quickly, and went out to where he could see her. 

"Yes?" 

"What's going on?" he asked as soon as he got up to her. 

She frowned a little. "What do you mean?" 

"With you!" he told her. "I'm worried about you." 

She shook her head. "You don't have to be, I'm fine. Go worry about Adam, he's the one in the hospital." 

"I think Azure is doing enough worrying for the whole team," he reminded her. "Aura, talk to me, please." 

"There's nothing to talk about," she insisted, stepping away from as she did so. She couldn't stand to look at him, he'd see the shame in her eyes, she knew it. She didn't want him knowing what was going on in her heart, for once in her life. 

"Yes, there is," he insisted. "Something's bothering you, what is it?" 

She whirled around, filling her eyes with fake anger. "Nothing!" 

"If it were nothing, you wouldn't be getting this upset over it." 

Aura hated to treat Billy like this, but saw no other options. "Billy, how many times do I have to tell you to stay out of my private life?" _Of course, there's the little detail that in three years of being married, and a full lifetime almost of being friends, I haven't HAD a secret from you that I didn't wind up telling you!_ 

Billy looked at her. "Aura, we haven't had a secret from each other in years, we agreed not to have any, remember?" 

"So now I want one, is that a crime?" Aura snapped. 

Billy sighed. "If this is about what happened to Adam, it was an accident, he wants to see you!" 

"I don't want to see him," Aura didn't say what else was on her mind. _He'll blame me for the fall, and I won't be able to tell them what happened, I just can't!_ 

Aura was almost about to step away when Piranatrons appeared all around the two of them. Billy rolled his eyes. "Great!" 

_Oh, this is just wonderful!_ Aura groaned to herself as she got ready to fight. The fish-creatures charged. ..right by Aura as if she weren't even there! For a moment she stood still, not believing this, then did her best to fight. 

Only to have them avoid her as if she carried some form of disease! _What is going on here?_ Billy had to fight alone; the Piranatrons wouldn't even touch Aura, but he finally managed to beat them off. 

"Wonder what that was all about?" Billy asked. Aura shook her head. 

"I don't know." 

Billy looked at her a bit curiously, but didn't say anything. "You sure you don't want to see Adam? He doesn't blame you." 

Aura turned away from him, whispering far too low for him to hear. "I blame myself," she spoke louder. "No." 

"He understands that it was an accident, Aura! Honest, he really wants to see you," he could tell she was thinking it over; it was hard for Aura not to see her friends for long, even if they'd had a disagreement. "Well?" 

She sighed finally. "All right. I'll go see him." 

"Come on," Billy smiled as they started back to the hospital. Aura wiped away a tear when Billy couldn't see her. _I hope I'm not making a big mistake doing this._   
  


* * *

  


Adam glanced up as Aura and Billy entered the room. Aura did her level best not to look at Adam, either. "How are you doing?" he asked. 

"Okay," Aura told the window on the other side of the room. "What about you?" 

"I will be," Adam's eyes were fastened on the far side of the room. 

"That's good," Aura nodded briefly. 

"Did they tell you what was wrong with me?" there was an edge to Adam's voice as he asked. 

"No, not yet," Aura shook her head. _And I don't think I want to know, really._ 

He told her, "I may be paralyzed, but there's a very good chance it's not permanent." 

"Good," she nodded. She saw Azure and Billy talking, but deliberately ignored them; she could give them that much privacy at least; normally she would have heard them plainly. 

Billy whispered softly to Azure, "Azure, it was like the Piranatrons were avoiding her on purpose." 

"You don't think Divatox told them to?" 

He shrugged. "There's only one reason I can think of why she'd do that." 

Azure whispered, a trifle louder this time, "Divatox still has her under her control." 

Billy nodded. "Looks that way." 

Azure stared at her sister; almost afraid of her! _Is she still our enemy?_ "This is bad," Billy whispered. Aura whirled around; she couldn't avoid hearing that! 

"What?" at that, teary-eyed Azure ran out of the room. Aura looked at Billy and Adam both, upset. "What is wrong with her?" 

Billy placed a hand on her shoulder. "I think we should go to the Power Chamber. There is something we need to take care of there," his eyes never left Adam as he spoke. 

Aura practically glared at them. "What?" 

"Come on," was all he said. "You take care, Adam, we'll be back." 

Adam watched as they teleported out, and sighed. _Somehow, even if I DO walk again. . .I think my Ranger days are over with._   
  


* * *

  


The Rangers and Justin were all gathered in the Power Chamber when Aura and Billy arrived. She stepped back a little from the others as she and Billy solidified; she really didn't want to hang around them much. "What is it we have to take care of?" she asked. 

Billy held out Adam's Turbo Chargers. "This. With Divatox on the loose, we're going to need the full team!" 

"Who's going to be the temporary Green Ranger?" 

Tommy put a hand on Justin's shoulder. "Justin." 

The young boy looked up, eyes wide. "Huh? Me?" 

JUSTIN, YOU HAVE PROVEN YOURSELF AS A LOYAL FRIEND, AND FROM WHAT THE OTHERS HAVE TOLD ME, YOU ARE VERY SKILLED IN MARTIAL ARTS. 

Justin blushed a little at Zordon's words. "Well, yeah, but I'm only twelve!" 

"We weren't that much older than you when we got our first powers," Tommy told him. "Justin, we have faith in you and your ability, otherwise, we wouldn't have considered you." 

"Wow!" Justin was overwhelmed. "Well, if you really think I'm good enough, I'll do my best." 

Billy smiled a bit sadly, as he handed the Chargers and a communicator to Justin. "Justin, you do understand that this is only until Adam is better, right?" 

"Which I hope is very soon!" Justin nodded sharply. Billy glanced over to Aura and took a deep breath. 

"Now that that's over with, you wanted to know what's wrong with Azure," he said. At her nod, he continued, "Aura, part of it is what happened to Adam, it's going to be hard for her, almost as hard for Adam to deal with what happened. But also, part of it has to deal with you." 

"With me?" she thought for a moment, then nodded briefly. "Oh, because of how the accident happened." 

The next thing Billy said totally floored Aura. "Aura, there is a chance that Divatox still has some sort of control over you." 

Aura's eyes went completely wide; this was the very last thing she'd been thinking about. "What?" 

He kept going. "We don't know what kind of powers Divatox has, she may, somehow, still have control over your actions." 

"What makes you think that?" Aura's eyes glinted with rage at this. 

"The way you've been behaving since the collar was destroyed," Tommy told her. The Amber Ranger glared at him. 

"What have I done?" 

Rocky spoke up next. "You've been so distant, and losing your grip on Adam, is something you've never done before." 

"Excuse me for living!" Aura snapped. "And accidents happen!" 

Billy stepped over to her. "Let Alpha scan you, just to be sure that you're okay, please." 

Aura jerked away from him; she couldn't believe he'd asked that! "If you can't trust me, Billy, I don't know if I want to stay married to you, much less stay on the team!" she hissed, teleporting out. Billy sighed, tears in his eyes. 

"I hope, I really hope, that this doesn't mean what I think it might," Aisha murmured. 

"So do I, Aisha, so do I," Billy sighed.   
  


* * *

  


Aura cried again in the park, this time over the accusations of her husband and friends. _How could they think that? How could they SAY that?_ She forced herself to think logically, despite her grief. _They don't know what happened when I went to the Heart of Earth after Billy and Ninjor rescued Pyris._ 

She relaxed a little as she remembered. The Spirit of Earth had been waiting for her, and in her loving arms had she sobbed out the grief from being turned against the side of good once more. The Spirit had then told her of the Psychic Armor, a mental and spiritual shield that could deflect all magics or technology that would warp her normal way of thinking. She'd been working on it the last three weeks, and had finally perfected it that morning, just before Alaina's shout had interrupted what had been a pleasant day. 

_That's why I've been so 'distant'. I've been trying to figure out how to make sure I'm never turned against them again, and then they turned around and accuse me of still being under her control! Then again, they don't KNOW that's what I've been doing. I didn't tell them because I wasn't sure if I could master the technique. I didn't want to give them false hope._ She sighed. _Or myself false hope if I failed._ 

Her own powers had also been increased to be equal to the Turbo powers; and her Zord's strength had been improved. The Spirit of Earth took very good care of the Ranger she loved so very much. 

"Hello, my Amber Ranger!" 

Aura jerked up at Divatox's voice and leaped away. "Get away from me!" she spat. 

"Why should I?" the pirate queen laughed. "You did me a great favor in that battle with Lampster!" 

"What are you talking about?" Aura wondered. 

Divatox laughed harshly. "You destroyed the Green Ranger for me!" 

Aura looked away. "I saw that monster of yours, and. . . .," she shivered, feeling sick to her stomach. Divatox smiled. 

"You are, whether you want to or not, working for me now!" 

"No!" Aura shook her head "The Rangers destroyed that collar, you have no control over me anymore!" 

Divatox smiled. "Don't I? Why don't you look towards those trees behind me?" she watched as Aura's eyes grew wide at the sight she saw there. "Get used to seeing that if you don't obey!" 

"Why are you doing this to me?" she whispered. "Why can't you leave me alone, leave Earth alone if nothing else!" 

"There are just too many things I want on this planet! I'm not leaving until I get them all!" 

"Then you're going to have to fight me and every other Ranger for everything you want!" Aura glared; as angry as she was at the others, she would not fail in her duties to protect this world. 

Divatox shook her finger in Aura's face, enjoying the fear in the Amber Ranger's eyes. "By the time I'm through with you. . .nooooo!" in the very middle of her threat, Aura was teleported out. In a flash she was back on the Subcraft. "Porto!" she snapped. "Send my two monsters out at once to take care of those Rangers! Destroy them completely!" 

"Yes, my queen!" was all Porto said, doing it at once.   
  


* * *

  


Aura glanced around quickly as she appeared in the Power Chamber. Tommy was right in front of her, worry in his dark eyes. "Aura, why didn't you tell us you saw Melter before?" 

She looked down at the floor. "I couldn't." 

"I think we all owe you an apology, for thinking you were under Divatox's control," Tommy told her. He'd been hiding in the bushes near where she and Divatox had been speaking, and had heard her fervent denial of the pirate queen's demand. Aura shook her head. 

"It's okay," she murmured. "I was acting kind of strange." 

Billy wrapped her into a warm and loving hug. "Don't be afraid to talk to us, about anything that's bothering you," he whispered. Aura nodded briefly. 

"I couldn't face the fact it had happened again, that I was turned against you guys again. I'd blocked it out. Then when I saw Melter. . .it all came back," she finally told them what had happened. 

Rocky nodded. "And your grip on Adam slipped?" 

"It's not your fault," Tommy told her at her nod. "It's Divatox's, and if we ever catch her, we're going to make her pay Adam's hospital bill!" 

"She certainly has enough in that sub of hers to do it several times over!" Aura smiled, thinking of the tons of jewels and gold she'd seen. Suddenly, the alarms blared and Alpha whirled around the room in a panic. 

"Rangers, the Lampster and the Melter Monster have both appeared in downtown Angel Grove!" he told them. 

"Ready for your first fight, Justin?" Tommy asked. The young Green Ranger took a deep breath. 

"I certainly hope so!" he told them. Tommy nodded and pulled out his Turbo Charger. The other Rangers took their stances, and their leader smiled. No matter how old they go, or what their powers were like, one thing never changed. 

The Rangers defended the Earth. 

"Shift into Turbo!" he commanded. "Red Lightning Turbo Power!" the Red Turbo Ranger stood where he had a moment earlier. 

"Mountain Blaster Turbo Power!" Rocky thundered, becoming the Blue Turbo Ranger. 

"Desert Thunder Turbo Power!" Justin called out the command for the first time, and the new Green Turbo Ranger came into being. 

"Dune Star Turbo Power!" Aisha snapped out, morphing into the Yellow Turbo Ranger. 

"Wind Chaser Turbo Power!" Kat called, transforming into the Pink Turbo Ranger. 

"Phantom Power!" Billy's ruby glowed as he became the Phantom Ranger. Aura smiled as her friends morphed, watching Justin grow an extra two feet and put on at least twenty pounds of muscle was an experience that definitely would need getting used to. Now it was her turn. 

"It's morphin' time!" she cried, pulling out her Power Coin. "Amber Ranger Power!" 

In seven flashes of light, red, blue, green, yellow, pink, black, and amber, the Rangers went into battle. Aura and her HawkZord, along with Billy and Artillatron, took down the Melter Monster, while the others put Lampster's lights out in record time. As the monsters' ashes vanished in the Angel Grove breeze, Justin suddenly cleared his throat. "Um, guys, don't you think that someone is wondering who has their powers?" 

"He's right," Aisha nodded. "We'd better let him know." 

"And I have to talk with Azure, and let her know what's going on," Aura was looking forward to clearing the air with her sister. 

"And for some reason, I don't think she's going to want to know who took Adam's place," Billy sighed. 

Tommy nodded. "You're right, she's going to be upset!" 

Aura bit her lip; she knew Azure's temperament better than any of them. _Upset is going to be an understatement I do believe!_   
  


* * *

  


As the Rangers entered the hospital room, once more a tight-knit group, even with the new addition to the team, they saw Azure curled up next to Adam, who was sound asleep. "Azure?" Aura whispered softly. Azure glanced up at her sister a little fearfully. 

"Aura?" 

Aura came over to her. "Azure, I have something to tell you. About why I let Adam fall." 

Azure got to her feet. "In the hall," was all she said as the two walked out. Tommy shut the door behind them, then gently nudged Adam. As his friend opened his eyes, Tommy said softly, "We need to talk." 

Adam sat up a little. "Where's Azure?" was the first thing he asked. 

"Talking to Aura in the hall," Billy told him. Adam frowned a little. 

"Is Aura okay? I mean. . .," 

Tommy quickly explained what had happened, then took a deep breath. "We picked Justin to hold your powers until you get better." 

"Justin!" 

"Justin," Tommy nodded at Adam's outburst. 

"He's just a kid! How could you do that to a kid?" 

Justin came over to the side of the bed. "I agreed to it," he told Adam, who shook his head. 

"You don't know what you're getting into, Justin." 

Tommy promised, "We'll keep an eye on him." 

"I still don't like it," Adam said. Billy sighed. 

"Adam, it's only until you get back on your feet, he understands that!" 

Adam struggled to sit up. "Then I'm going to put everything I've got into getting back on my feet!" 

Justin smiled. "You'd better!" 

"What are you guys talking about?" Azure stood in the doorway, Aura just behind her. When no one answered at once, she looked over at Justin, and her eyes narrowed at the sight of the green shirt on him, and the green communicator on one wrist. "You didn't?!" 

"I agreed to it," Justin defended their choice. Azure looked angry enough to have smoke coming out of her ears! 

"How could you?" she practically roared. "How could you?" 

"We had to have a Green Ranger; and there was no one else," Tommy told her. All the ex-Rangers were unavailable, for one reason or another. Azure wasn't listening, though. 

"That is no excuse!" she screamed. "He is just a kid! You are putting his life in danger!" 

Aisha stepped up. "Azure, his life is in danger by virtue of the fact he lives in Angel Grove! At least like this, he has some protection, and it's only until Adam's back on his feet, anyway." 

"Look what Divatox did to Adam!" Azure just barely managed to keep her voice down enough so no one would hear them. "How can you say that he's going to be safe?" 

"I didn't say he was going to be safe," Aisha retorted. "I just said he'd have some protection. There is no safe place, it looks like, on Earth!" 

"Get out!" Azure pointed to the door, even as Adam tried to calm her down. "Get out!" 

One by one, they filed out, as Azure sat next to Adam's bed, crying. She looked up as Adam called her name. "Don't blame them," he told her. "They did what they had to do." 

"Did they?" she asked harshly. "He's just a child!" 

"He's a Power Ranger," he corrected her. "For now." 

Azure shook her head. "He shouldn't be. He should be a kid enjoying his life, being around his friends, not defending the Earth from Divatox." 

Adam nodded. "I know. And if it weren't for Divatox, it wouldn't be necessary in the first place. But someone has to do it, and you might want to ask Justin how he feels about it, it's his choice, after all," he bent over and brushed his lips against hers. "I love you, Azure." 

"I love you, Adam," she told him. "But I can't accept that the Rangers even asked him to do this." 

"Would you rather they have asked you?" 

Azure glanced away, not wanting to show the fear built up within her. "No." 

"Everything's going to be fine, Azure," Adam tried to reassure her. She stood up and started getting ready to leave. "Tell the kids I'll be home soon," he asked her. She nodded, wiping the tears away. 

"I will," she couldn't keep them from her voice, though. It was all she could do not to cry as she left her husband there, back to the children she loved. 

And now one like them, though somewhat older, was responsible for the defense of the world against an evil pirate queen. 

Life sucked.

**The End**


	45. Magical Amber

**Magical Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

Divatox paced up and down in her Subcraft, thinking. She hadn't expected a battle when she'd come to Earth, not like what she was getting! She'd expected to arrive, destroy all the Rangers, and loot the place, then go on to the next. Instead, she'd destroyed _six_ out of the _seven_ Rangers, and the seventh had served her for a time due to a powerful enchanted collar. Then she'd been freed, and had rejoined her comrades against the pirate queen. 

Then just a week earlier, a month after their arrival on the world, Divatox had taken a perfect opportunity to regain her Ranger slave. That had turned into an unmitigated disaster when instead of succumbing to her fears, the Amber Ranger had overcome them! Oh, yes, she'd let the Green Ranger fall almost to his death, and indeed he had been hurt. But they'd picked _another_ Ranger to take his place, and the team was undiminished. 

The only good thing that had come out of that was that Aura and her sister Azure were currently at odds over the choice of Ranger. Indeed, Azure was avoiding _all_ the Rangers. 

"I need an edge," Divatox muttered as she paced. "Something that will put me one up on those Rangers, something that will give me an advantage!" 

Porto looked over at her. "What about that Ranger brat? The one who saw the former Green Ranger's fall last week?" 

"Yes!" Divatox almost jumped up and down at that. "The ability to see the future is _just_ what I need!" 

"And with that feud going on between the Rangers, and the fallen Ranger's wife, it should be no problem!" Porto continued, "not with Kidster!" he gestured as the named monster appeared in the doorway, festooned with balloons, toys, and all other things that kids liked. 

Divatox laughed evilly. "Yes! Go, Kidster, and bring me that child! I must have her at once!" 

"Yes, captain!" the monster saluted and teleported off. Divatox squealed with glee, this was going to work, she could feel it!  
  


* * *

  


Aura watched benevolently as her two oldest played in the kiddy pool Billy had set up in their backyard. He was inside taking care of the other children. 

"You're all wet!" Alex splashed his sister merrily, laughing as Alaina splashed him right back. She stuck her tongue out as she did so, then suddenly overbalanced and tripped. 

"Alaina?" Aura rushed over to her, to see her daughter looking up at her with wide eyes. "You okay?" 

"Mommy!" Alaina said hurriedly. "Had a vision!" 

_I wonder who's going to be hurt this time?_ "What did you see?" the Amber Ranger wondered. 

"Hands," Alaina shivered. 

"Hands?" 

The seer-child nodded. "They were grabbing for me!" 

Aura put a hand on her daughter's shoulder and held her close, concern in her gray eyes. "I'm not going to let anyone hurt you, or your brothers and sister, Alaina." 

"I know, Mommy," Alaina smiled. This vision hadn't frightened her nearly as badly as the last one. "I wanna play with Katia!" she declared. 

Aura sighed deeply. "You know Aunt Azure is mad at us. I wish she wasn't." 

"Is she mad at me?" 

"No," Aura took a long, deep breath. It hurt her to think her sister was angry at her in any way. So much had changed since Divatox had arrived. People who had never argued were having fights, Adam's Ranger career was abruptly ended, in the worst way possible short of death. . . 

"Is she mad cause Uncle Adam fell?" 

"Not just that," Aura sighed. "But. . ." 

"Cause Justin's a Ranger?" Alaina and her brothers and sister liked the new boy who had come to stay with them. He was almost as smart as their dad, and he really liked them too. 

Aura nodded. "Yeah, she thinks we're putting him into too much danger, and we are," she admitted that freely. Justin was in danger, Billy was, they _all_ were. It came from living on a world under constant attack. "But there's no one else." 

"Would she listen to me?" Alaina asked. 

Aura smiled a very little. "I don't know. We can try. I really want my sister back!" 

"Can we?" 

"Yeah!" Aura decided at once. She led both of them into the house to change, and asked her husband to keep an eye on Alex while she and Alaina went to try and patch up their family.  
  


* * *

  


Azure Park pushed Adam towards their car in his wheelchair, smiling very little as she did so. "It'll be so good to have you home again!" she told him. She'd missed him terribly the last week. 

"It'll be good to _be_ home again!" Adam sighed, watching Azure unlock the door. 

"I've missed cuddling," she teased him a little. 

"So have I!" 

Azure smiled, then as she looked up and saw her sister and niece coming towards them, her eyes and face darkened. Aura spoke before her sister could. "Azure, Alaina wants to talk to you." 

_I hope she hasn't seen another disaster!_ "What is it, Alaina?" she wondered. Alaina came over to her and stared up at her. 

"You're worried over Justin getting hurt," Alaina wasn't asking a question with that. 

Azure nodded slowly. "Yes, I am!" 

"He's not going to get hurt." 

Azure looked over to her sister, not believing this. "This is low!" she'd never imagined Aura would do this! 

"She wanted to talk to you!" Aura retorted. "It was _her_ idea, Azure!" 

Azure turned away from them both. "If you'll excuse me, I have to get Adam home." 

"Aunt Azure," Alaina looked up at her aunt. "You're not mad because they picked Justin, not really," she spoke in her soft voice. "You're mad cause you think he'll get hurt fighting," Azure was staring only into her husband's eyes. 

"That's part of it." 

Fear filled her niece's eyes and face. "Aunt Azure, if he hadn't become a Ranger, then Divatox would have already won!" she hadn't told anyone the _second_ future she'd seen, with the world under the heel of the evil pirate queen. 

Azure couldn't look at her niece. "It doesn't change how I feel, Alaina," she said softly as she came around to her side of the car. She glanced over at them, and her eyes widened in fear. "Alaina!" she screamed. "Look out!" 

Kidster, who had been creeping out of the bushes towards the little girl, jumped back. Aura whirled around and growled at the sight of the monster so near her child. A second later, the Amber Ranger was running towards the creature. "Azure!" she snapped. "Get Alaina out of here, now!" 

Azure didn't care if she was upset at Aura or not, she would _not_ let a child come to harm if she could avoid it. That was the very core of her argument with the Rangers at the moment. She grabbed Alaina, almost threw her into the car, and burned rubber out of there. 

"How dare you even _attempt_ to harm my child!" Aura hissed. Kidster backed away. 

"I will have her!" he promised as he vanished. Aura was about to power down when a troop of Piranatrons appeared. 

"Oh, great," she muttered. This just wasn't what she needed to deal with right now. She was going to have to take care of these things before she could pick up her daughter. _Oh, well, I DID need a workout today!_  
  


* * *

  


Adam watched as Alaina and Katia played together on the floor. He tapped his fingers on the edge of his wheelchair for a few moments, then stared at it. _I wonder if therapy will help? I guess I don't have anything to lose, really. If I don't go into it, I stay in here. If I do, I've got a chance to walk. _

A knock on the door broke into his thoughts before they could become melancholy and he wheeled over. When he saw Aura there, the first thing he _really_ noticed about her was the communicator on her wrist. It was all he could do not to be jealous. Because of a simple accident, because of suppressed memories and a monster, he couldn't walk anymore. _I will again,_ he swore to himself. He'd never given up before, and he wasn't going to start now. No matter what. 

"I came for Alaina," Aura told him. "How are you feeling, Adam?" 

He shrugged. "Fine. She's playing with Katia," he moved aside a little so she could get in, noticing a shiver as she did so. 

"That monster," she murmured. "Was after Alaina." 

He nodded. "I know. Azure's in our room, if you want to try and talk with her." 

"I'll try," Aura sighed. "But I don't know if she'll listen." 

"I hope she does," Adam told her. "It's getting pretty annoying seeing her upset with you guys!" 

Aura took a long and lasting breath. "We thought for a while we'd be at peace. Then Divatox had to show up and wreck _everything!_" 

"And then some," Adam said softly as he wheeled towards Katia to watch her and his niece play. Aura sighed as she went towards their room and knocked softly. 

"Who is it?" Azure's voice came from within. 

"It's me," Aura was almost afraid to do this, she'd never really been at odds with her sister, and didn't know how to deal with her in this condition. But she knew it had to be done. 

"It's open," was all Azure said. "What do you want?" 

"To talk to you." 

"About?" 

Aura took a deep breath. "Azure, what did you tell me all those years ago, when I tried to avoid Billy, because I didn't want him to get hurt?" 

Azure glared at her. "You know dang well what I said!" 

"That I didn't have to be worried because Billy knew how to fight, how to defend himself, just like Justin does!" Aura had never thought she'd throw those words back into her sister's face. 

"Who said I was worried?" 

Aura wasn't buying _that_ for a second. "I know you, Azure, I've known you all your life, I know how you think!" 

"Then you should know how upset I am with you and the other Rangers." 

Aura nodded. "I do." _Doesn't mean I can't try and get you un-upset with us!_ Azure turned and looked out the window, muttering something. "I didn't hear you, Azure." 

"I said I wish I had taken that job in New York," she repeated. Aura bit her lip; to be away from her sister was one nightmare she really didn't want to have happen! 

"Azure," Aura came to sit beside her sister. "I don't even know why you stay in Angel Grove anymore." 

"I didn't take it because of you." 

Aura raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" 

Azure looked at her. "At the time, I couldn't stand the thought of not being near my sister, or that my kids would grow up not knowing their cousins." 

"Azure," Aura shook her head. "That isn't enough of a reason to stay in a place that has caused you so much pain." she wanted what was best for Azure, and if that meant she had to leave, then so be it. 

"You don't get it," Azure sighed. "Adam's family is here, my family is here, Adam's job is here. There are just too many things that are here, and at the time, I wasn't ready to give them up." 

"And are you now?" 

Azure nodded. "After what happened recently? In a heartbeat." 

"I don't blame you," Aura told her softly. It had never occurred to her that she would leave Angel Grove, ever. There was just too strong of a connection between her and this place. It had called her back from across the country, from across time and space. It would always be her true home, second only to the Heart of the Earth. 

"I want to be alone, Aura," Azure sighed deeply. Aura nodded and hugged her warmly, trying to transmit all her love and care to her beloved sister. 

"Please, at least let us know what you decide," she asked. "And thank you for saving Alaina." 

Azure blindly nodded as she stared into Angel Grove Park from their balcony apartment. "You're welcome." 

Aura sighed as she walked past Adam, who had wheeled in unnoticed during their conversation. A few moments later the sound of the shutting door echoed in the nearly silent apartment. Azure turned to see her husband sitting there looking at her quietly. "Don't start," was all she said. 

"What's for dinner?" was his reply. Azure shrugged a little. 

"There's some lasagna in the fridge that Mom brought over," she told him. Adam nodded and wheeled out. He'd learned when Azure didn't want to talk about something, nothing short of dynamite could drag it out of her. As he left, Azure laid on the bed and stared for long hours at the picture of her and Aura. 

_Can I really live without her? _  
  


* * *

  


"You couldn't even snatch one kid!" Divatox screamed. "What kind of monster are you?" 

Kidster tried to defend himself from the raging pirate queen. "There was a Ranger there! And that lady had to go and scream!" 

"You were scared off by _one Ranger?_" Divatox couldn't believe her ears! This thing was supposed to bring her that child, and one little Ranger got rid of him???? 

"And almost deafened by that lady!" Kidster added. The queen shook her head, sighing. 

"Well, you'd better try again!" she ordered. "And this time get it right!"  
  


* * *

  


Billy looked up as Aura and Alaina got out of the car. Alex and little Shaya were playing in the yard, while little William was cooing in his cradle near his father. "You saw Azure, didn't you?" he asked softly, seeing the troubled look in his wife's eyes. Aura nodded. "She's still mad at us for making Justin a Ranger, isn't she?" 

Aura nodded as she sat next to him. "She was. She might leave Angel Grove, I don't know," she caught him up on what she and her sister had discussed. Billy wrapped an arm around her and looked at his oldest son. 

"Alex, why don't you and your sister go inside. I need to talk to your mother." 

"Okay, Daddy!" Alex smiled as he pulled Alaina inside. 

"And be nice to your sister!" Billy called out as the door shut behind them. He shook his head. "I wish I knew how to make things the way they were before Adam's fall," a soft whisper was all that clued him in that Aura had said something. "Aura?" 

She looked up at him, and he hurt to see the look in her eyes. "I said I wish I'd died in that explosion." _Death would be better than having to live with my sister hating me!_

He gazed deeply within her eyes. "Aura, no, you don't," he told her. "Everything will be back to normal soon. Divatox will leave, Azure will forgive us, and Adam will be back on his feet teaching karate in no time." 

"Then the next time some evil invader wants Earth, it all starts up again," Aura had never felt so pessimistic as she did today. 

Billy stroked her hair gently. "I wish I could guarantee you that no one will ever attack Earth again." 

Aura sighed. "I know you can't. And I knew what I was getting into when I swore my oath to Earth." 

"But there are times when you wish you didn't have to be the Amber Ranger, aren't there?" 

She nodded. "Yes. I'll never go back on it, never in my heart, but I wish it wasn't necessary." 

"One day, it won't be necessary," he promised her. That was all he could promise, and they both knew it. 

"I hope so." 

Billy smiled a little. "Come on, let's get the kids to bed. Justin is finishing up his homework, and we need some time to catch up." 

Aura shrugged. "Yeah," her head came up as Billy kissed her on the neck, in just the right spot. "Billy!! You know what that does to me!" 

"Hey, you're the one who wants _ten_ kids!" 

Aura laughed, her dark mood banished by love. "It's just my biology! It comes from being the Amber ranger and being linked to the Earth, I can't help it! But even if it wasn't, I'd want a thousand, if they were with you!" 

Billy smiled. "Let's go work on number five!" 

After the appropriate interval of putting their already born children to bed, Billy pulled Aura into their bedroom and locked the door, turning to look at his lovely wife. "I love you," he told her. "And I fall in love with you all over again every time I see you." 

"I've forgotten what it feels like to _not_ be in love with you!" she told him as they began to kiss. 

"Just don't remember!" 

"Never," she promised. "I will love you until I die, and then even after that!" 

After that, there were no more words. Then again, words weren't necessary between them.  
  


* * *

  


There was a light rain that night, and the puddles it left were being hopped into by a very active three year old in the morning. "I help Mommy shop!" Alaina giggled as she and Aura walked to the store. 

"Yeah," Aura smiled. She felt much better that morning than she had the night before, and even entertained the small hope that one day Azure would _not_ be mad at them. 

"I like doing that!" 

"And you're one excellent helper!" Aura loved her daughter with all her heart, and wasn't going to let Divatox get her slimy paws on her. 

Alaina glanced behind them at the apartment complex they'd just passed. "I like helping you. And I like helping Aunt Azure too!" 

Aura looked to see what she was looking at. "I know, honey," she said softly. 

"She just left the building," Alaina told her. "Maybe she go shopping too?" 

"Yeah, probably," Aura sighed briefly. 

"Can we wait for her?" Alaina wondered. "I see her, she's heading this way!" 

Aura bit her lip nervously. "I guess we could wait for a second," the silence was broken a moment later by Alaina's scream. "Alaina? What is it?" 

Her daughter pointed to the bushes. "Thingie that tried to take me is in there!" Aura growled, then saw a rock on the ground. A quick throw into the bushes caused Kidster and a squad of Piranatrons to leap up and towards them. Aura groaned, as she hit her communicator to get the others there. 

_Too many people around to morph! Why didn't I go shopping earlier, when there were less people around!_ Aura berated herself as she fought. She'd lost sight of Alaina when the Piranatrons had swarmed her, then saw Azure coming up, lost in thought. 

"What the?" Azure looked up as hands grabbed her suddenly. A pair of Piranatrons pulled her to a tree, holding her tightly. She saw Alaina struggling in the grip of the same monster who had attacked them the day before, and winced as Aura screamed out her name. 

The monster held Alaina up like a trophy. "Surrender, Amber Ranger!" he hissed, and Aura was thankful people were clearing out to fast to hear what it said. "Or your child and this woman perish!" 

Aura stopped in her tracks. "No!" she growled. "Don't you dare hurt them!" 

"Then surrender!" Kidster taunted. Aura's eye flicked from Azure to Alaina, then she dropped her head in defeat. 

"I surrender," she whispered. She couldn't let her sister or daughter be hurt. 

Azure screamed, "Aura! Don't you dare!" 

"I can't let you and Alaina be hurt, Azure," she said softly. "I love you all too much." 

"No!" Azure insisted. "Don't!" that was the last she said as a Piranatron shoved her harder into the tree, hitting her head and causing her to lose consciousness. 

"Azure!" Aura ran over to her sister. 

"She'll live," Kidster growled. "It's time we left!" 

Aura look at the creature. "Release Alaina!" she ordered. "She's only a child!" 

"Divatox wants her powers!" Kidster denied. Aura sighed. 

"Then let me hold her, at least." 

The monster nodded, bringing Alaina over to her and putting a hand on Aura's shoulder. The Ranger growled at him, "Get your hand off me, or I swear, I'll break it off at the shoulder!" 

"Once we arrive!" he teleported them all just as the other Rangers arrived. Billy couldn't believe his eyes. 

"Tell me I didn't see what I think I saw!" 

Tommy nodded slowly. "Divatox has Aura, Alaina, and Azure." 

"I asked you not to tell me that," the Phantom Ranger sighed. Rocky shook his head. 

"Oh, man, this is very bad!" 

Justin nodded. "We'd better find them, and tell Adam." 

"I'll tell him," Kat offered. "Billy, you need to start finding them." 

He nodded. "Justin, I'm going to need your help." 

The Rangers teleported off to various locations, on the job to get their friends and teammate back.  
  


* * *

  


As they arrived on the Subcraft, Kidster let Aura's shoulder go, as the Piranatrons threw Azure to the floor. Aura went straight to her sister, trying to get her to wake up. A soft moan cheered her a little. "Aura?" Azure whispered. 

"It's me," the Ranger said softly. 

Azure opened her eyes a trifle. "I'm sorry," she told her sister. 

"For what?" 

"I was wrong," Azure told her. Anything else she might have said was cut off by Elgar. 

"That is so sick!" he growled. Aura turned to glare at him. 

"Family business!" she snapped. "Keep out!" 

Divatox intervened then. "You did an excellent job!" she told Kidster, then turned to Aura. "Hello again, my Amber Ranger!" 

"Don't call me that!" 

Divatox ignored that. "This is your sister, isn't it?" 

Aura nodded as she hovered protectively over Azure and Alaina both. She wasn't going to let anyone hurt them. 

"I suggest you do as I say, if you want her to live!" the pirate suggested lightly as she pointed a laser gun at the semi-conscious woman. 

Aura leaped in between them. "Don't hurt her!" she insisted. "Don't hurt either of them!" 

The marauder chuckled. "Then work for me!" her best times on this planet had been when Aura had been her servant Ranger, and Divatox wanted that back. It also fascinated her to see people struggle with mental dilemmas like this one. 

Aura looked to her sister and daughter. "I have no choice," she whispered, tears in her eyes. Azure nodded her understanding. "As long as you don't hurt them, in any way, I'll. . .I'll. . .," she couldn't bring herself to say the words. Divatox didn't mind, though. 

"Put that one in the brig!" she gestured to Azure. Aura nodded and helped her sister to her feet gently. 

"Come on, Azure. At least you don't have to put up with having to look at her!" she glared at Divatox. Azure smiled a little. 

"When we get out of here," she said. "We need to talk." 

Aura nodded. "And we will get out." 

"I know we will!" Azure smiled at her sister as they walked through the Subcraft. Aura locked her into a cell and sighed. 

"I hope Billy isn't taking his time looking for us!" 

"I hope not either!" Azure agreed. They might have to be here for now, but neither of them liked it! 

Aura rolled her eyes a little. "I've got to get back to Divatox. I need to make sure she doesn't hurt Alaina." 

"She's your main concern," Azure reminded her, glad to see a smile come from her sister. 

"She's my daughter," the alien Ranger told her as she returned to the main chamber. She saw Alaina staring at Elgar, who had just asked if the little girl wanted to play with his flying fish. When Alaina saw her mommy, she ran straight over to her. "Mommy's here, Alaina!" she soothed her. 

Alaina looked disgusted. "I don't wanna play with the egghead man!" she cried. Aura nodded. 

"And you don't have to!" she reassured her, glaring at the idiotic crew. 

Divatox gestured towards a cell specially set up in the main room. "Put her there!" 

As Aura obeyed, all unwillingly, she asked, "What do you want with her, Divatox? She's just a little girl!" 

The pirate smiled. "Her ability to tell the future."  
  


* * *

  


Adam was doing his best to maneuver around their apartment. As he did so, he noticed Azure had left her keys on the table, and chuckled softly. A knock at the door at the same time got him rolling towards it. "You forgot your," he started to say, expecting to see his wife there. 

"Hi, Adam," Kat said nervously. 

"What's wrong?" he'd never seen her this concerned over something; he hoped everything was all right with Rocky and their kids. 

Kat sighed a bit. "I've sort of got some bad news." 

"What is it?" Oh, please let Azure be all right! 

The Pink Ranger took a deep breath. "Azure, Alaina, and Aura. Divatox has them all," Adam closed his eyes at hearing that, doing his best to stop the tears. "Billy's already at the Power Chamber, looking for a way to get them back." 

"What are we waiting for?" he asked, wheeling closer to her. He wasn't going to sit on the sidelines for this! 

Kat smiled, and teleported both of them to the Power Chamber. The first words out of Adam's mouth were, "Any luck?" 

Billy looked over at them. "Nothing yet," he shook his head, then turned back to the work. Adam sighed as he watched them going back and forth. That was me, once, he thought. I used to be one of them. Now I'm just a cripple! "Hey, Adam," Billy came over to him with a sheaf of papers in his hands. "Could you run these figures through that computer over there for me?" 

Adam smiled as he got to work. You always could read me like a book! Several long hours passed as they worked to find their missing ones. 

"I've found Aura!" Billy exclaimed suddenly. "She's. . .in the park." 

Adam looked over at his friend. "What about Azure and Alaina?" 

"No sign of them," the Phantom Ranger shook his head. Where are they??? We have to find them all. 

"I hope she's herself," Adam glanced at the Viewing Globe. Aura was just standing there, morphed, it looked as if she were waiting for them. "And not under Divatox's control." 

Tommy nodded. "Only one way to find out. "Shift into Turbo!"  
  


* * *

  


Aura waited in the park, knowing the others would show up sooner or later. I've never fought them of my own will before, and that's what I'm technically doing now. I don't like this. Not one bit. 

"Aura?" she looked up to see Billy there. 

"Don't come near me, Billy, please," she protested. His face was hidden under his helmet, but she could tell he was confused. 

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Where are Alaina and Azure?" 

"With Divatox," Aura told him. "And if I don't work for her, she'll kill them." 

The other Rangers went wide-eyed at that. Aura continued, "I don't have a choice, guys. I can't let her hurt my sister or my daughter!" 

"We understand," Tommy told her. "But we won't hurt you." 

Aura nodded, a little smile hidden behind her own helmet. "Then let's get this over with." 

"Let's," Tommy agreed. "And we're sorry ahead of time." 

"Same here," the Amber Ranger told him as she started towards Billy. "I love you, Billy." 

"And I love you," he told her. Thus began one of the strangest "That was definitely the weirdest fight we've ever had!" Tommy declared. Billy nodded. 

"Let's get back to the Power Chamber," he told them. "I think Aura might be the clue to getting them back!" 

He held a hand out, and unfolded it. Inside was a scrap of paper. Aura had slid it into his hand with the last punch she'd given him. It held the co ordinates of the Subcraft.  
  


* * *

  


"You lost!" Divatox screamed at the top of her lungs. She had never seen such a pathetic display as she had during that fight! Her Ranger hadn't even been trying! "You lost!" 

Aura shrugged. "Six of them, one of me, you do the math!" 

"For that. . .," Divatox gestured. "Bring her!" Aura turned to see Azure being brought in. Her eyes narrowed. 

"You said you wouldn't hurt her!" 

Divatox smiled evilly. "Who said I was going to?" 

"Then what is she doing out here?" All I need is for her to break her word, then first I get them out of here, then I take this place apart, starting with HER! 

Divatox produced a detonator suddenly. "Either you win the next fight, or this detonator, that I am going to put on her, is going to go off! After she's released into Angel Grove Park!" 

"You wouldn't!" Aura's eyes went wide as Divatox attached the detonator to Azure's chained wrists. 

"Then you'd better win the next fight!" Divatox purred. Aura almost literally deflated. 

"I'll win it," she sighed. "Just don't hurt Azure." 

Divatox nodded. "She'll live, as long as you keep winning! You lose, she dies!" 

"I understand," Aura whispered, just managing to keep the tears from her eyes as she looked about for Alaina. Divatox got her attention as she waved towards the cell. 

"She's over there asleep." 

Aura looked at her unwilling mistress. "Will you never let them and me go?" 

"Maybe!" Divatox crowed a little. "And maybe not! Put them in the cell with the little girl!" 

Aura and Azure were both hustled into the cell and locked. Azure trembled at the thought of the explosives so close to her, her sister, and niece. Aura sighed deeply as she gathered her daughter into her arms. "She looks so peaceful when she sleeps," Azure whispered. 

"I know," Aura sighed. 

"Aura," Azure asked softly. "What happens if this thing on me goes off?" 

Aura trembled. "You remember the Community Center?" she whispered. Azure nodded briefly. 

"Except this time, someone loses their life." 

Aura closed her eyes. "I won't let that happen." 

"Just do me a favor," Azure made her promise. "I don't want this thing going off and hurting Alaina." 

Aura nodded as Alaina opened her eyes and smiled. "I had good vision!" she told them. 

"What did you see?" Aura asked. 

Alaina smiled. "Uncle Adam and Ghost Lady! Uncle Adam was standing!" she told them. 

Aura's eyes widened. "Ghost Lady," she repeated. "The Spirit of Earth is going to heal Adam!" 

"I hope I can see it!" Azure prayed as Aura agreed. The Ranger leaned over to hug her daughter. This was truly the greatest of news!   
  


* * *

  


"I've got them!" Billy grinned. The co ordinates had been just what they needed to get things completed so they could find them. A few moments later, the three of them were sitting on the floor of the Power Chamber. 

"Billy!" Aura smiled at her. 

"We got you!" Billy smiled as he hugged her. Azure looked up, terrified. 

"Teleport me out of here! There's a detonator on these restraints, get me out of here!" Azure insisted. Billy snapped, 

"Get her out of the restraints!" Azure watched as the Rangers worked quickly to remove the chains, then Billy teleported the detonator to the sun, where it could and did explode safely. As soon as it was gone, she went to Adam, holding him tightly and shaking. 

"I owe you all an apology," Azure said softly. 

Tommy nodded. "We understand you were worried," he told her. Azure sighed. 

"But that doesn't excuse my behavior," she continued the apology. Aura looked curiously at her brother-in-law, then smiled. 

"Adam," she got his attention. "When's your birthday?" 

Adam frowned. "You should know that one! It's the day after tomorrow." 

"Want an early birthday present?" Aura asked. 

"I don't follow," Adam wondered what she was up to. Aura wasn't really an evasive person, but this was confusing him. 

She smiled. "You will." 

Before any of them could react, they were all standing in the Heart of the Earth. The Spirit appeared even as they did, and Aura quickly went over to her, whispering in her ear. The Spirit smiled, and turned to Adam. "Are you ready to walk again, Adam Park?" 

The former Ranger responded, "Huh?" 

"Are you ready to walk again?" the Spirit asked. "I believe it is an easy question." 

"Yes!" Adam didn't even have to think about that. The Spirit smiled as she and he both glowed briefly. 

"So be it!" 

Adam stood up, staring at his once more functioning legs and body. "Oh, wow!" he declared. He caught up Azure in a warm hug and kissed her passionately. "Oh, Azure," he whispered. She looked up into his eyes. 

"Think we should tell them?" she asked softly. Adam nodded, as she turned back to the others. "You know how I was offered that job in New York?" when everyone nodded, she continued, "I made up my mind. . .I'm. . .," she paused, biting her bottom lip. She noticed the worried, but hopeful, look in Aura's eyes. "not going to take it." 

"Well, I hope you. . .," Aura stopped in the middle of her sentence. "What?" 

"I got offered something better right here in Angel Grove!" she smiled. "I'm going to start training to be a physical therapist, I start Monday!" 

Aura smiled. "That's great!" the sisters hugged again, all the bad feelings washed away. Azure might not agree with Justin's being on the team, but she accepted it. 

"That, and I have a family here," she continued. "One I can't live without!" 

Aura chuckled. "Guess we're all stuck with each other!" 

Her sister nodded. "And I wouldn't have it any other way." 

**The End**


	46. Accidental Amber

**Accidental Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

Three weeks passed, with the usual events happening. Divatox sent down monsters or set out detonators, the Rangers dealt with them, and she screamed and yelled a lot. Justin was proving himself to be a valuable member of the team, and Azure was slowly growing used to the idea of a teenage Ranger. 

Things were rather hectic for the two sisters, though, with things piling up until finally Azure suggested a trip to get them both away from it all. Adam and Billy both agreed to it, in fact, they practically threw their wives into the car to get them out of Angel Grove for a time! 

"It's going to be great to see Aunt Kate again!" Aura smiled. It had been quite some time since she'd seen her aunt, and she missed her. 

"I wish the guys could've come, though," Azure mused as they drove down the road. Aura nodded. 

"Yes, but it's nice to be on our own, too," she reminded her. Azure smiled. 

"No kids, no husbands, no work, no studies to worry about for two days!" she rejoiced. 

"It's going to be a great weekend!" Aura laughed, keeping an eye on the road ahead of her as she did so. 

Azure smiled as she glanced ahead, and saw a car heading towards them._ That thing looks like whoever's driving it's had a little too much to drink! _"Aura, you may want to watch out for that driver," she pointed him out to her sister. Aura nodded, and was about to say something else when everything seemed to go insane. 

The car pulled halfway across the road, heading straight for them. Aura did her best to avoid it, only to have the other car smash straight into them. Azure's belt snapped as they were thrown down a hill and she was tossed out of the car. Aura remained in, hitting her head against the steering wheel hard. 

Azure looked up as she came to her senses and saw Aura's car slammed hard into a tree. She groaned and slowly got to her feet, glancing at her wrist and groaned. _Where's my communi. . .oh, there it is. _The little bit of twisted metal on the ground a few feet from her used to be her communicator. She sighed deeply, then saw Aura was still in the car. "Damn," she muttered as she started towards it. "Aura, you'd better be all right!" 

Azure found she had to lean against a tree for a few moments, too dizzy and disoriented to walk for long. She wished they'd never left Angel Grove a moment later when Piranatrons and Divatox appeared a few feet away, with the purple pirate laughing at them. "Nice to meet you again, human!" 

"Not now," the young woman groaned. _Aura's hurt, and I'm not feeling that good, and she's got to show up and ruin everything! _

"Seems like you've had a little accident here!" the pirate mocked them. "Oh, the poor Amber Ranger. . .looks like she's all banged up!" 

Azure glared. "Get out of here now!" 

Divatox shook her head. "Oh, I don't think so! Let's play for a while!" she waved the Piranatrons towards them, and Azure set herself._ I don't have the others to get me out of this. Time to handle it on my own for once._

Azure was too caught up in the fight to notice what was going on for a few moments, until she saw Divatox leaning over Aura's still form. "This is going to be so much fun!" the pirate laughed. 

"No!" Azure couldn't believe her eyes, couldn't Aura be left alone even when she was hurt and unconscious? "Leave her alone!" 

Divatox smiled evilly. "I've done what I came to do!" was all she said. "Let's go, Piranatrons!" with that, she raised her arms and teleported out in a blaze of fire. Azure headed for the car, intending to check on her sister. 

"Aura," she muttered. "Please be okay. . ." 

Darkness enveloped her.  
  


* * *

  


"Ohhhhh. . ..," Aura's eyes flickered on an unknown amount of time later. _W. . what's going on. .car. . .there was. ..accident. . .AZURE!!!!_ "A. azure?" she could barely manage to speak as she looked around. She felt relatively fine, just a slight headache, but Azure. . . 

Her sister lay on the ground a few feet from her, face down and unconscious. Aura ran over to her, hearing an ambulance coming and noted absently a passerby coming towards her, he must have called them. She rocked back and forth with her sister's blood-covered body in her arms. "Azure," she whispered. "Oh, Azure, you've got to be okay. . .please be all right. . ." 

"Miss?" the person placed a hand on her shoulder. "You shouldn't be moving around, you might be hurt. 

"Doesn't matter," she whispered. "She's the only thing that matters." 

"Who is she?" 

"My sister," Aura replied, eyes on the person who had been her stability and strength through good times and bad. "My best friend. Azure." 

The stranger, who introduced himself as Mr. Keaton, stayed with her until the ambulance arrived. The paramedics quickly did their best to stabilize Azure, then loaded her into their vehicle. Aura heard clearly what one of them said into the CB. "We have a medical emergency coming in, patient in critical condition!" 

Aura held onto Azure's hand the whole way to the hospital, not daring to let go for a single moment. Once they got there, Azure was whisked away to surgery. A nurse intercepted Aura before she could follow them. "Miss? If you'd like to step over here. . ." 

"Where's a phone?" Aura wanted to know. "I need to call her husband and mine!" 

The nurse told her, "You'll be able to, but first we need to make sure that you're okay. If you'd please follow me." 

Aura was led into a room where a doctor did a quick examination of her. As soon as possible, Aura brushed him away, for dual reasons. She had no intentions of revealing her alien nature, and she wanted to know something. "Enough about me. Where's Azure?" 

"I'll go check," the doctor told her. "If you want to go call your husband, the nurse will let you do that from the nurse's station." 

A few minutes later, Aura placed a trembling phone call in to Adam. "Hello?" the former Ranger asked. He'd been working out a lot, getting back into shape now that all his injuries had been totally healed. 

"Adam, it's Aura," she could barely keep the tears from her eyes or voice. 

"Aura, what's wrong?" Adam was worried. "I thought you were supposed to be on your way to your Aunt Kate's house." 

She told him, "We got into an accident. Oh, Adam, Azure's hurt bad! We're at Stone Canyon Memorial, you'd better get here fast!" 

"I'm on the way!" Adam slammed the phone down, grabbed every kid he could get his hands out, and headed out the door. 

Aura sighed and then dialed her own phone number next. "Hi," the cheery voice of her son Alex answered her. 

"Alex, this is your mommy," Aura told him. "Put your dad on the phone." 

"Okay!" he giggled a bit as Billy picked up the phone. 

"Alex, what did we talk about last night?" he asked quietly, before turning to the receiver. "Hello?" 

Aura spoke quickly. "Azure and I were in an accident, she's hurt badly!" 

"Where are you?" once she'd told him, he wrote it down quickly. "Okay, I'm going to call your parents and let them know. Did you already call Adam?" he really didn't have to ask, he knew where Aura's priorities were. 

"Yeah. Please hurry, Billy, I don't know how she is, they won't tell me anything!" 

"I will," Billy told her. "She's going to be fine. I'm on my way. I love you, and give Azure my love if you see her before we get there." 

Aura nodded. "I love you, too, Billy." 

"Get some rest," he told her. "I'm going to call your parents." 

"All right," she bade him farewell, then hung up, shaking far worse than she ever had before in her life. Where monsters, memories, fights, Tengas, and Piranatrons had never damaged her to last, this was doing in the courage of the Amber Ranger. 

"Mrs. Cranston?" she glanced up to see the doctor who had went into surgery with Azure standing in front of her. "Would you come with me?" 

"Is Azure all right?" she wanted to know. 

"Please, I'll tell you on the way," the doctor gestured for her to walk with him. On the way to the Intensive Care Unit, he asked, "She is your sister?" 

"Yes." 

He stopped. "I know of no other way to tell you this, but she has some _serious_ internal injuries, that we couldn't close. She's dying." 

"No!" Aura shook her head violently. _This can't be happening! By the stars of light, it can't be happening! Not Azure! _

The doctor took her hand gently, trying to be comforting. "I am sorry. She's in room 321, right behind you." 

"Can I see her?" Aura asked softly. As the doctor nodded, Aura went in quickly, staring at her comatose sister. "Azure," she whispered. "You can't die. Not after all this time." 

She took Azure's hand, tears trickling down her cheeks. "Oh, Azure," she pressed the cold hand to her forehead. "Don't leave me. Don't. I can't live without you." 

"Aura?" she turned to see Adam standing in the doorway. "How is she?" 

"Adam. . .," Aura couldn't tell him what was happening! "The doctor said. . .she's dying. . ." 

He straightened a little. "No," tears welled up in his eyes. "No!" 

"She can't!" Aura shook her head. "I won't let it happen!" 

Adam gently brushed his hand against Azure's cheek. "This can't be happening. You can't leave me, not now. We've just really started our lives, you can't end it so soon!" 

Aura made her way to her feet. "I'll call the Spirit," she said. "We healed her once, we can do it again!" 

Adam nodded as he kissed Azure on the forehead. "I'm not leaving your side." 

Aura closed her eyes, reaching within to that place where the Spirit of Earth was linked to her. . .and felt nothing. . ."I can't reach her!" she staggered in surprise, this had never happened before! Never! 

"What?" 

"I can't reach the Spirit of Earth!" Aura dropped into a chair beside Azure, not understanding anything that was going on. How could this be happening? 

"Then there is no hope," Adam whispered, gazing into Azure's closed eyes. "Azure, honey, please wake up! After all you've been through, you can't possibly die now!" 

Aura watched as Adam tried to plead Azure back to life, barely noticing when Billy came in until he touched her shoulder. "Billy," she whispered. "Oh, Billy!" 

"Shhh," he held her. "Come on. Let's leave them alone for a little while." 

Aura nodded as she stood up, almost falling on him as she let loose with even more tears. He helped her out to the hallway, she could see the others entering the waiting room not too far away. "Oh, Billy, what are we going to do?" she whispered. 

"We're going to make it through this," Billy told her firmly. "So is Azure." 

"He. . .doc . . .the doctor said she was dying," Aura told him, hating the words even as she spoke them. "Oh, Billy, I couldn't even contact the Spirit!" 

He tried to reassure her, "Probably just because you're upset. Come on, let's go to the hotel." 

"I want to stay here," Aura shook her head. "In case Azure. . in case she. . ." 

Billy nodded. "Okay, at least come to the waiting room. And give Adam some time with her." 

There was just nothing else she could do.  
  


* * *

  


"Billy?" Tommy asked as they walked in. "What's going on?" when he found out, the Red Ranger almost wished they hadn't asked. Aura found a seat and buried her face in her hands, sobbing her grief out once more. Her eyes hurt, her chest ached, her head was throbbing, and all she wanted to do was forget her entire life, since that life had revolved around Azure. And now Azure was. . .was. . .she wouldn't even let herself think it. She _couldn't_ let herself think it! 

"How are you holding up?" it was Kat. Aura looked up with tearstreaked eyes. "Aura, talk to me, how are you holding up?" 

"My sister's _dying,_ Kat, how do you _think_ I'm holding up?" she growled. Kat looked down. 

"I'm sorry." 

Aura looked at them all, anger, fear, hate, rage, grief, all in those expressive gray eyes of hers. She turned away from them all, in a way she hadn't since first becoming the Amber Ranger, and just stared at the wall, tears still trickling down. Billy held her warmly in his arms as she rocked back and forth, blaming herself internally. 

"Aura," he whispered. "The police will catch who did this to her." 

"That won't change anything," she whispered. 

"I know." 

She sighed, the tears almost stopping. "I should've been more careful." 

Billy tried to reassure her. "It's not your fault. He hit you." 

"Why not me?" Aura was plainly not hearing a word he was saying. "Why her? Hasn't she been through enough?" 

"I don't know, Aura, I really don't." 

"Hello, there!" everyone looked up to see Elgar and almost twenty Piranatrons there. Aisha growled, "Get out of here!" 

"The last thing we need here is you!" Rocky hissed. 

Elgar shrugged. "Sorry, but I got my order!" they started towards the Rangers, who intercepted them, all but Aura. She hadn't even noticed their arrival, her entire focus was taken up with thoughts of that small frail figure in Room 321. 

Of course she did notice Elgar when he smacked her heard enough to knock her out of her chair. She glared up at him. "Can't Divatox leave us in peace for _one day?_" 

"Um, nope. Are you going to fight or sit there?" Aura's answer was _not_ one Elgar enjoyed receiving as she slammed her foot with every ounce of strength she had left right in his most sensitive area. "Ohh!! That hurt!" 

"It was meant to!" she growled as she threw herself into the attack. But so hard had she cried, she had no real strength left, she was worn to the bone. Elgar pushed her down contemptuously. 

"Ha! Can't even help your own sister!" with that as his last words, Elgar vanished, the others had taken care of the Piranatrons without Hospital security even knowing they were there. Billy came over to Aura and helped her to her feet. 

"Come on, you're getting some rest," he was going to insist this time, she needed it badly for Elgar to beat her in a fight. 

"I am _not_ leaving here!" Aura shook her head. 

Billy frowned. "We're going to be right across the street. If she wakes up, Adam or one of the others will call us, okay?" he managed to worm a reluctant promise out of her. He looked over to Tommy. "You know the room number?" 

"Thanks," Billy nodded and led Aura firmly across the street to the hotel room he'd gotten before coming to the hospital. "Just rest here," he told her. "I'm going to be in the other room with the kids for a few minutes." 

Aura laid her head down. She couldn't believe her sister was once again in the hospital. This time, she had no one to blame but a drunk driver. Wiping the tears away, she fell into a deep sleep. 

_"Aura?" _

_Aura turned at the voice. She knew it, it was Azure's. "Azure!" She ran to her, trying her best to hold her in her arms, but she fell right through her. "What's going on? Why can't I touch you?" _

_"I'm dying Aura. There is no way around it. Your dreaming this. I just came to say good-bye." Aura looked at her sister, wearing a long white dress that flowed in the non-existent wind. _

_"You can't be serious! Azure, you are too young to die! What about Katia, Jeni, and Adam? What are they going to do without you?" _

_"Adam will raise the girls just perfectly. I have faith in him. I will miss you all. I don't want to die, but it's my time. Good-bye dear, sweet sister. Take care. I will always love you!" Azure backed away from her, and faded away._

Aura woke up with a start, tears flooding down her eyes. "Azure, I won't lose you." 

"Aura?" Billy's voice came to her from the doorway. He sounded like he was crying. 

"I just had a bad dream. I'm okay." 

"Aura, the hospital just called. Azure died 30 minutes ago." 

"What? NO, not Azure!" Billy ran over to her, and held her as she cried once again. 

"I'm sorry," Billy whispered. "I am so sorry," his tears mixed with hers as they mourned the loss of a sister and friend. Outside, a sudden storm lashed the treetops, as the Earth itself wept.  
  


* * *

  


The funeral came all too soon for them all. Aura was a shattered woman. Even Adam was taking the death of his wife better than she was. Four times had Divatox attacked, and four times Aura had ignored it. Nothing mattered to her anymore. This was the first time she'd even left her house since they'd returned to Angel Grove. She'd spent the intervening time staring at a picture of herself and Azure, and crying. 

"I can't believe this is happening," Billy whispered as he held Aura's hand. Their children were seated around them, and Alaina looked up at her mother, the light catching the amber necklace around her neck. 

"Where is Aunt Azure?" 

For the first time since Azure's death, Aura spoke. "She's not here anymore, Alaina." 

"Why?" 

"She. . .she's gone, Alaina," Aura whispered. 

"She leave Uncle Adam?" Alaina wondered. Aura shook her head. 

"She's left us all, Alaina," Aura told her. "Forever." 

Tears welled up in the little girl's eyes. "She's dead?" Aura nodded as she picked her daughter up and held her tightly throughout the service. Once it was ended, Adam stood at the foot of the grave, staring. 

"Good-bye, my sweet Azure," he said softly. He looked up as Billy came over to him. 

"I wish I could tell you why this happened." 

Adam nodded. "After everything we lived through, Rita, Zedd, Eric, Divatox even. . .it takes this. . .to separate us." 

"Why don't you come and stay with Aura and me tonight?" 

Adam thought for a few moments, thinking of how empty the apartment would seem without Azure in it. "All right," he said finally. "I'll get the kids." 

"I'll meet you by the car. I think Aura needs some time with her sister." 

The two men walked away in different directions, leaving Aura standing beside the stone by herself. Quietly, Aura dropped to her knees, a lump in her throat that wouldn't go away. Her mouth worked, unused to speaking now, she was surprised she'd been able to say anything to Alaina. Finally, she let loose with a scream that seemed to come from her very toes. "Why!?!??!?!??!?!?!?!!" 

_It was her time._ She recognized the voice of the Spirit of the Earth, echoing in the wind that blew around her. 

"Why?" Aura screamed again. "Why wouldn't you come to me? Why wouldn't you let me heal her? She could've lived!" 

_There was nothing I could do. Nothing you could've done. It was her time to go. _

Aura shook her head. "How? She had so much to live for! Why couldn't it have been me? How? She had so much to live for! Why couldn't it have been me? I've done everything I was ever born to do!" 

_Aura, she has done what she had to do. Look upon her tombstone and read. _At the Spirit's command, Aura did so, whispering the dates to herself. "Such a short time. . .," suddenly she did a doubletake. "Wait a minute!" _Those dates are wrong! _

_What else is wrong about this whole situation? _

Aura thought deeply. "Alaina. Alaina was wearing an amber necklace, like mine and Alex's! That's wrong!" 

_Anything else? Remember your last time with her? _

"Azure was thrown out of the car," Aura whispered. "Everything went black. . ." 

_Beyond that. When Adam was there. In the hospital._

"I couldn't get in touch with you!" Aura cried, remembering. 

_Correct. Aura, you are not in real life at the moment._

"I don't understand. Where am I then?" 

_If not awake, then you must be asleep._

"How do I wake up?" 

Instead of answering, the Spirit said, _I shall return. You have company._ Aura looked up into the mocking face of Divatox. 

"Hello, Amber Ranger!" the pirate spoke sarcastically. "Sorry about your loss!" 

Aura glared at her. "This is a dream. But if you're here, it must be a nightmare!" 

Divatox's eyes widened. "How did you realize that it was a dream?" 

"You're good," Aura admitted. "But you're not _that_ good. You made a few mistakes." 

"Like?" 

Aura got to her feet, feeling her courage and strength returning. "Like the fact you screwed up Azure's birthdate." 

"How could that alone make you think this was a dream?" 

Aura smiled. "Oh, a few other details. Like Alaina's necklace, and I couldn't talk to the Spirit of the Earth in the hospital, but she managed to get through to me here. And you just _admitted_ it was one, and that got rid of any doubts I had!" 

Divatox shrugged. "So I did. You won this battle," she admitted. "Time to return to life. Pity what you'll find there is almost as bad as what's here!" 

Aura growled, "Since you're there, I know it will be just as bad!" 

With a mocking laugh, the image of the pirate vanished, and everything around her went black. Aura heard a voice, a well-known, and well-loved, but most of all _living_ voice, speaking to her. . . 

"Aura. . .," Azure whispered. "Come on, wake up. .."  
  


* * *

  


Azure looked at her sister, worried. "Aura," she urged. "Come on, wake up!" 

Aura's eyes began to open. "Azure. . ." 

"Shhh," Azure told her. "The ambulance is on it's way. Someone passed by and saw what happened. They called them and went to go find a first aid kit." 

"You. .you're alive. .." 

Azure smiled as she rubbed some of the blood from her cut forehead out of her eyes. With the help of the passerby, she'd managed to make certain Aura was more or less in one piece, that had relieved a lot of her anxiety. "Yeah, I'm alive. And so are you." 

"Had a . ..dream. ..," Aura tried to tell her about it. "Divatox. . ." 

Azure shook her head. "Aura, rest. You were hurt. Rest. You can tell me later." 

"I'll be okay," Aura told her. "Since you are." 

Azure smiled. "You'd better be," she glanced up as the ambulance arrived. "Looks like help is here." 

"Good," Aura winced. "My head hurts!"  
  


* * *

  


Once they reached the hospital, Aura did her best to tell them what she'd dreamed. Azure leaned softly against Adam. "I can't believe Divatox did that," she murmured, her fingers tracing the stitches on her forehead. 

"I know," Adam nodded. 

"I was so worried about you," Azure whispered, taking Aura's hand gently. Billy's eyes hadn't left Aura the entire time, she looked so helpless in the hospital bed. 

"I'm going to be all right," she promised as he leaned in and kissed her on the forehead. 

"I didn't know what to think when Azure called me," he said. Aura smiled. 

"I love you, Billy!" 

Billy smiled at her. "Hey, visiting hours are almost over. Time for you to get some sleep. And tomorrow, you're free to come home." 

Aura nodded as she saw Azure closing her eyes, her sister's own pain killers were losing their effect, she realized. "Tell the kids I'll be home tomorrow," she said. 

"I will," Billy glanced to Adam and Azure, then back at his wife. 

"Come on, Azure," Adam smiled at her. "We need to get you home too!" 

Azure nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow, sis!" 

"Can't wait to see you," Aura nodded. Azure went over and gave her a small sisterly kiss on the forehead. 

"I'm not going anywhere," she promised. Aura nodded. 

"You'd better not!" 

Azure smiled at her, she'd been horrified to hear of the dream Divatox had put her sister through. "You get some rest. I'm going to the hotel and take those pain killers, and sleep till tomorrow morning!" 

Aura smiled as she closed her eyes, already drifting off into a deep, thankfully dreamless sleep. 

"Cone on, Billy," Adam pulled him to the hall. "She needs her rest."  
  


* * *

  


"Guys," Billy said when they were outside. "I'm going to stay here," he glanced to Azure. "Your parents are watching our kids for the night." 

Adam nodded. "If Divatox tries anything, let us know!" 

"I'll let the Rangers know," Billy corrected him gently. "Adam, you take care of your wife." 

Adam nodded. "I will. But I still want to know." 

"Take her to get some rest. She looks ready to pass out from pain," Adam turned at Billy's gestured and gathered Azure up into his arms. 

"Come on, honey," he murmured. "Time to get some sleep." 

As Adam took her to the hotel, Billy smiled, and turned back to the hospital room, going in to keep on his wife. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Divatox standing over Aura. 

"Get out of here, Divatox!" he ordered. The space pirate glared at him. 

"She is _very_ annoying, Phantom Ranger!" Divatox growled. 

"No one asked you to comment on my wife!" 

The pirate glared at him. "So? I don't care what it takes, I'm going to get rid of her and of all the rest of you Rangers!" 

Billy forgot his manners for a moment. "When hell freezes over! Get out!" 

"No way!" she glanced down at Aura briefly. "And I'm going to get rid of _her_ first! She's been nothing but trouble since I got here!" 

"Then you should have stayed away!" 

The pirate produced a sharp knife. "No way! This planet has far too many riches I'm going to get, and I can dispose of _one_ obstacle right here and now!" 

Before she could bring the blade down, Billy had morphed into Phantom Ranger and stopped her. "I said get out!" 

"I will be back!" she promised. "For all of you!" 

Once she was gone, Billy demorphed and looked at his sleeping wife. "You have been through hell today," he murmured. "I hope you never have to go back there." 

Aura's only response was a light snore as she turned over. Billy smiled and stepped away a little, contacting the others. He quietly told them what had happened, then winced as Tommy let loose with a veritable stream of profanity. 

Adam growled, then kicked himself when Azure woke up next to him and wanted to know what was going on. 

"Is Aura all right?" Aisha wondered. 

"Yeah," Billy told her. "She slept through the whole thing!" 

Rocky chuckled. "She's been a deep sleep since the first day I've known her!" 

"That she has," Billy smiled. "Adam, make sure Azure gets back to sleep, she needs it, too!" 

"I will!" 

"You better," they heard Azure grumbling in the background. Adam kissed her sweetly and bade her go back to sleep. "Then shut up!" she told him sharply. He laughed a little. 

"Good night, everyone!" Adam said as he turned off his communicator. Billy chuckled. 

"And she's always been a light sleeper," he laughed. 

Kat sighed. "Those two. When will fate leave them alone?" 

"Soon, I hope," Billy spoke their most fervent desire. "Very soon indeed."  
  
**Story Break: Amber Ranger/Night Ranger crossover here!!**

**The End**


	47. Golden Amber

**Golden Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

It was a quiet, peaceful day in Angel Grove, as so many days were. The Rangers and their friends cherished those days as much as they could; with Divatox around, they didn't come often anymore. Adam, Azure, and Justin were in the park that day, with the young Ranger doing his homework. He spent almost as much time with the Parks as he did with the Cranstons, and they all loved him equally. 

"This is one beautiful day," Adam sighed happily, his arm around Azure. It had been two days since they'd returned from their little weekend getaway. They'd straightened a good deal out during their time together, enough so she was comfortable in his arms again, but her shoulders _were_ a little tense. "How's the homework coming, Justin?" 

"Fine," the Green Ranger grinned. "Almost done!" 

Adam smiled. "Good. Gotta keep those grades up!" 

Justin grinned, then as he closed his book and declared he was done, Azure slowly got to her feet and walked over to the pond's edge, deep in thought. "Azure? You feeling all right?" Adam wondered. 

"Yes," she nodded. "Just thinking." _Am I EVER going to go back to feeling the way I did about Adam. ..and myself. ..and everything. ..before?_

Adam nodded. "All right." 

Justin raised an eyebrow as he glanced at them. He could sense the tension, and the slight hint of romance, in the air. "Would you guys like me to leave?" 

"No, Justin," Adam shook his head, then whirled suddenly as a harsh voice spoke. 

"Of course not!" Goldar, along with a small army of Piranatrons, laughed at them. "Stick around!" 

Azure turned at the sound, her eyes widening with purest fright. "Noo!" she whispered. "Oh, God,_ no_!" 

"My new boss would like to meet _all_ of you up close and personal!" Goldar laughed, bringing a strange looking crystal. Before any of them could move towards a communicator, they were all sucked inside of it! 

Azure glanced around, trembling from head to foot as she took in their unusual prison. Adam tried to put an arm around her. "Azure, we'll be all right," he whispered. "The Rangers will get us out of here." 

Azure pulled away from him, not wanting to hear it. She had never told them what the Goldar of the Night Rangers' universe had done to her, and didn't really want to if she could get away with it. Adam sighed. "We'll be all right," he said firmly, then looked to the only active Ranger there. "Justin, can you still morph?" 

"I'll try," he said, shaking a little himself. "Shift into Turbo! Desert Thunder Turbo Power!" 

They watched hopefully, then had their hopes dashed as nothing happened. "Why is this happening?" Azure whispered. Adam looked over at her. 

"We'll get out of this," he repeated. "Trust me, Azure. We will get out of this." 

Azure almost seemed to believe him for a second, then looked up to see a giant Goldar staring back at her. She leaned against the side of the crystal and trembled. _Please, don't let it happen again!_ * * * 

Goldar put the crystal down on a pedestal once he'd returned to the Subcraft. "Divatox, I have done as I said," he declared. "Now we can use these three to lure the rest of the Rangers into our trap!" 

"Indeed!" Divatox giggled wildly and kicked her feet almost like a girl. "We'll destroy each and every one of them! What do you think of burning them at the stake?" 

"If I can _personally_ destroy the Amber Ranger," Goldar growled. "Slowly!!!" 

"Oh?" the Queen Pirate raised an eyebrow. "A personal vendetta?" 

"Very much so!" he declared. Goldar would never, _ever_ forget how Aura had humiliated him time and time again, depriving him of his master, his mistress, Vile, Rito, even Scorpina!! Because of her he had become a mockery and an outcast, and only now had he began to work his way back up. She would _pay_, and he already knew the coin in which it would be rendered. 

"What do you have in mind?" Divatox was mildly interested in this. She'd never really heard too much of what the Amber Ranger had done before her own arrival on the scene, beyond the few natural rumors, and was curious. 

"A fight," Goldar declared. "To the death, her _without_ her powers!" 

Divatox laughed. "Mmmmm. ..that sounds interesting already! But you're going to cheat, of course?" 

"Of course!" Goldar laughed, shaking the crystal their prisoners were trapped in. Adam's miniaturized voice squeaked out, ordering him to stop that! Goldar only laughed, slamming it back down to the pedestal. "Maybe we should keep these three in here for _eternity_!" 

"Sounds like a good idea!" Divatox declared. After all, that was one less Ranger she had to deal with, plus two minor annoyances out of the way! Goldar laughed, glaring into the crystal, and a wicked smile crossed his face as Azure backed away from him. He had never felt happier in his evil life. * * * 

Billy held his youngest son and watched pleasure as Aura proceeded to tromp Tommy all over the Youth Center, using skills and techniques that her father Neras had taught her. She'd trained all the Rangers in those moves, but they all knew, and as they watched saw the proof, that it took someone of her bloodline to fully master them. 

"He looks _fine_," Kim sighed happily from near her old friend. "I don't care how many times I look at him, he always looks great!" 

Rocky laughed, stroking Kat's hair as he held her near him. "I just hope you two don't start doing what you did the _last_ time you sparred!" 

"What?" Kim's voice was pure innocence. 

"Don't give me that!" Rocky giggled. "You two were at it worse than Azure and Adam have_ ever_ been!" 

As Kim blushed, Kat thought for a moment. "Weren't Azure and Adam supposed to meet us here?" 

"Yeah," Rocky sighed. "But knowing them recently, they probably got into an argument or something." 

"I hope not." 

"We _all_ do!" Billy echoed Kat's heartfelt sentiment. Aisha nodded in her own turn. 

"If they did, I feel sorry for Justin, since he's with them," the Yellow Ranger declared. Tommy and Aura finally finished their workout, and as they came over, heard the tail end of the conversation. 

Tommy shook his head. "They should be here soon," _Adam's really been trying to make amends, but I'd imagine it WOULD be hard to deal with. .. what happened!_

Kim hopped to her feet as she looked at her fiancé. "Ready, Tommy?" the two of them had not yet gotten married. Their plans had been thrown for a major loop over a year earlier with Galan's arrival, and they were still trying to get things straightened out and arranged. They both seemed to be enjoying the long engagement, however. 

"Yeah," he smiled. "Let's do it, beautiful!" 

Rocky laughed. "Why do I think they're going to be doing _more_ than just sparring?" 

"I don't know!" Aisha giggled, as Tommy gave them his very best 'wounded puppy dog' look. It didn't seem to impress Aisha anymore than it did the dozen Piranatrons that popped up right then. Billy swore. 

"Kim," he snapped to the inactive Ranger, "Get the kids _out_ of here!" 

She was already herding them out, as all the non-Rangers did what non-Rangers always did in these situations: run like crazy. Aura growled, eyes flashing, "Get out of here, fishheads!" 

As soon as the last one had gone, Tommy held his head up proudly. "Let's do it, guys! Shift into Turbo!" 

When seven Rangers stood there fully morphed, Aura pointed her finger at Goldar and the goons. "Time to take you reeking fish-things _down_!" 

Goldar laughed, some sort of crystal in his hands. "I wouldn't if I were you!" 

"If I were you I'd commit suicide, but that's just me," Aura's wisecrack covered the stab of fear that went through her at the sight of the golden monster. "What do you want Goldar?" 

He growled, "Your surrender!" 

Aura actually looked _annoyed_ at this! "Don't you guys _ever_ ask for anything else? Just for the variety of it?" 

"Amber Ranger," Goldar stalked closer. "Recognize the girl in this crystal?" he knew she did when she stepped back, and could almost see her paling under her helmet. "I suggest you surrender, or I crush this crystal and they _die!_" 

"No!" 

Goldar nodded harshly. "You will have _one_ hour in which to decide, and if at that time you decide _not_ to surrender, something that happened long ago will happen to her once again!" as Aura screamed denial, he laughed and vanished. 

"I'm going to kill him," Aura swore. "Somehow, in someway, I am going to_ kill_ him!" 

Kat shook her head. "He can't be seriously thinking of doing that to Azure, not again!" 

"He would," Aura said grimly. _And if that dream had ANY basis in reality, Azure couldn't possibly survive it. _

Rocky shook his head. "Hasn't she been through enough recently? Heck, we don't even know what was_ happening _to her while you guys were in that dream thing or whatever." 

"I get the feeling we probably wouldn't like it if we did know," Aura said softly. "I can't let that happen to her." 

"Let's get back to the Power Chamber," Tommy said. "We'll figure out what to do from there." * * * 

THIS IS SERIOUS, RANGERS, Zordon declared as soon as Tommy had explained the full implications of what had happened to them. 

"Is there any way we can get a lock on that crystal, and teleport them out of it?" Rocky wondered. 

I AM NOT CERTAIN, their mentor admitted. ALPHA, SCAN THIS CRYSTAL IF YOU CAN AND FIND OUT WHAT IT IS MADE OF AND WHAT PRECISELY WE ARE DEALING WITH HERE. 

"Ay-yi-yi, right away, Zordon!" it only took a few moments for the results, sad as they were, to come back in. "I'm sorry, Rangers, it can't be done." 

"We've got to get them out of there, somehow!" Aura insisted. Tommy paced, thinking. 

"We can't even be sure that if we _did_ surrender they would free them." 

"I can almost guarantee they won't," Aura snapped. They looked as Billy swore a little from where he was helping Alpha out. 

"Alpha's right," he declared. "We can't break into the crystal, it seems that it's connected with Goldar's brain waves. How they found any, I don't know, but it only does what he tells it to do right now." 

Aura blistered the air around her with her command of two languages' invective. "Why couldn't he have stayed out of our lives?" 

Billy put a hand on his wife's shoulder, trying to comfort her. _She's had a week from hell, to say the least. We've GOT to rescue them, or she's likely to go flat out insane. And I can't say that I blame her._ "We'll find a way." 

"We'd _better_!" Aura snapped, pulling away from him some and starting to pace, the motion helping her think. 

Billy started back working at the computers, wondering if he should get her a tranquilizer as she paced. Finally he said, "Guys, why don't you go back to Angel Grove? I'll let you know the minute something turns up." 

"I'm not going _anywhere_, Billy!" Aura declared. She had no intentions of leaving while her sister was a captive! 

"You make me nervous when you pace like that," he said gently. Aura sighed and agreed, she knew Billy didn't work well when nervous. "Tell the kids I'll be home soon." 

Aura kissed him gently and nodded. "All right. Maybe Alaina knows something." 

"If she does, let me know," he advised. They weren't above using the strange gifts of their daughter if they were able to be used without harm to the child. As the Rangers teleported out, Billy turned back to the computers. _Don't worry, guys_, he thought. _Help is on the way. ..somehow!_ * * * 

"So, how did they take the ultimatum?" Divatox asked her newest lackey as Goldar played with the crystal merrily. 

He grunted. "Just as I thought." 

"A lot of 'nos' and 'you don't dares'?" she surmised. The Rangers were predictable in some ways, this being one of them. 

Goldar nodded as he put the crystal back where it belonged. "Exactly!" 

"They never change!" 

Elgar reached over and picked the crystal up, wincing as Divatox screamed at him. "Gee," he looked at Azure. "She sure is frightened." 

"Indeed," his aunt nodded, looking at the crystal with a strange look in her eyes. 

"What are you thinking?" Goldar wondered; realizing he found it a little refreshing not to have to refer to her as 'my queen' or any of that nonsense. She was just. . .Divatox. 

The pirate queen chuckled. "The Amber Ranger and that former Ranger Adam seem to care about her a great deal. She would be the _perfect_ secondary hostage. Remove her from the crystal and hide her where they'll_ never_ find her!" 

Goldar couldn't believe his ears! Zedd would _never_ have come up with an idea _that_ good! "Perfect! But first, to torment her a little! To make her even more terrified!" 

With a flicker, he was inside the crystal. Since it belonged to him, he was the only being who could travel freely between it and the larger world outside, and he was going to use that to his best advantage. "Hello again, Azure," he laughed, enjoying the terrified look in her eyes. This was the first time he'd seen her up close in some time, and was somewhat surprised to see there were bruises on her, similar to those that _he_ might have given her. He shrugged mentally; who knew what Divatox had done that might have caused this? It also didn't matter. 

Azure screamed as Adam went to hold her gently, and Goldar cracked his knuckles ominously. "It's so _nice_ to see you again!" he declared. 

"Keep him away!" Azure whispered, shivering. "Keep him away, Adam!" 

"He can't! Goldar mocked. 

Adam leaped in between the monster and his wife. "I can die trying!" and he was echoed by Justin, standing beside him. Goldar snorted in contempt. 

"You certainly _can and will_ die if you get in my way!" he declared. He had no use for people like this! 

"Touch one hair on my wife and it'll be _you_ who dies, by my own hands!" 

Goldar laughed. "Ohhhh. ..a powerless Ranger and a midget! I'm scared! Not!!" 

"Excuse me!" Justin growled. "I'm a Ranger, you know!" 

"You're still a midget!" Goldar howled, and then howled again in pain as Adam kicked Goldar with what the Rangers had come to call the 'patented Aura maneuver'. It made both him and Justin wince to see or do it, but that wasn't going to stop them. 

Adam glanced over to Azure, and saw her against the wall of the crystal, trembling. "I don't know what happened to make her like this, but if I find out that you had _anything_ to do with it, I'm going to do more damage than what I just did!" 

Goldar growled, knocking the two of them aside and seized Azure by the neck. "I don't think so!" 

"Azure!" Adam screamed as they both vanished, then looked up to see Goldar holding his wife outside of the crystal. 

"You're _never_ going to see her again!" he laughed, dragging her away to the tune of her own screams. * * * 

In the Power Chamber, a sudden alarm beeped, and Billy checked it quickly. Once he comprehended what he was seeing, he hit the communications device, calling in the others. Aura was by his side a moment later. "What is it?" 

"I got a lock on Azure," he said eagerly. "Goldar took her out of the crystal." 

"Where is she now?" 

Billy scanned quickly. "Seems she. ..," he stopped, hitting the console as hard as he could. "We just lost her. I can get the crystal out of there, I did find a way to do that. And I was able to get a few scans of it, Divatox isn't holding up shields like she usually does. I think she's too busy gloating over what she has. It seems that if the crystal is shattered at a precise frequency, then anyone trapped inside of it will be released. Unfortunately, we don't know what that frequency _is_." as he spoke, he could see the worry and fear in Aura's eyes. "I'm not taking any more chances. We're not going to lose anyone else," he declared, hitting two switches and teleporting the crystal into the Power Chamber. Aura looked at it for a moment, seeing only the two small figures of her brother-in-law and foster son in there. Tears began to shine in her gray eyes, and Billy groaned, looking at his consoles again. "I had her for a second, then lost her _again!"_

Aura's head came up when she heard her sister was once more gone from the sensors. A howl and shriek of purest heartbreak, sorrow, and rage seemed to rise up from her very toes at that, louder and longer than anything they'd ever heard come from her before. It seemed to be the very essence of pain. 

And the crystal shattered. Justin and Adam lay on the floor of the Power Chamber, staring up at them. "Thanks, Aura!" Justin managed to croak out. Everyone could just stare; who would have imagined the frequency to break the crystal would be Aura's own scream?? 

"Billy," Adam said quietly. "Please, find Azure," he looked over to Aura. "She was trembling. She was so scared. The minute she saw him, she almost went catatonic. Aura, did the Goldar in that other universe do something to her?" 

"I'm not sure," Aura shook her head. "But I wouldn't be surprised." 

Adam clenched his fists. "If he did, I'm going to kill him." 

"Stand in line!" 

"Aura, she's my wife," Adam said softly, holding onto a console for support. "Let me handle this one." 

She shook her head. "I've got seniority, she's my sister, I've known her longer. Look, how about we wait until we get her back, _then_ decide who gets to tear Goldar into little pieces?" * * * 

Divatox was hunting high and low for the crystal as Goldar returned to the main room. "Where is it?" she snapped. "It was here and now it's gone! Where's the crystal?" 

"The Rangers!" Goldar growled. Divatox started spewing out insults, and Goldar simply shook his head. "But we still have _one_ hostage." 

The pirate smiled. "Indeed we do. The most perfect hostage of them all!" 

"What do you say we give them _another_ ultimatum? A _serious_ one this time!" 

Divatox agreed. "Indeed. How many should we ask for this time? They didn't seem to respond well to wanting them all, and even getting rid of one or two will be good enough! It's a beginning, at least!" 

Goldar knew _precisely_ who he wanted. "The Red and Amber Rangers!" 

"Yes!" Divatox shouted. "I think I might have some fun with the Red Ranger," she grinned wickedly, seductively. "But just what _shall_ we do with the Amber one. Controlling her has been done to death. Whatever it is, I want it_ painful!"_

Goldar laughed; he'd made his plans already. "I shall torture her _beyond_ reality! Let's go send them the ultimatum, and show them just how _serious_ we are!" as they went to Azure's prison, he had another idea. "And just to make it harder for them to locate her, we bump the message off several _different_ locations!" 

"They'll _never_ find her!" Divatox declared. Once again, a perfect plan! * * * 

Aura and Adam seemed to be having a pacing contest in the Power Chamber. The Amber Ranger paused for a moment to look at her husband. "Any luck yet, Billy?" 

"No," he shook his head, then looked at the communications console. "But we have an incoming transmission." 

"From who? And where?" 

"I can't tell from where," Billy frowned. "But it's from Divatox and Goldar." 

"What do_ they_ want?" Aura growled. "They'd better be releasing Azure!" 

Billy touched a button. "Bringing it up now." 

"Hello there, Power Pukes!" Divatox laughed as she came clear on the communications screen. "Having a horrible day?" 

"Where is my wife!?" Adam screamed loudly. Divatox laughed. 

"Where you're never going to find her, ex-Ranger!" she mocked him as Goldar stepped aside to show Azure chained up against a wall, almost shaking apart with her shivers. 

Tommy stepped forward. "What do you want?" 

"You and the Amber Ranger," Goldar ordered. "Surrender or she dies!" Goldar fingered Azure's hair for a moment, then punched her with all his strength in her stomach, eliciting a powerful scream. 

"Don't you _dare_ touch her!" Aura ordered. Divatox laughed. 

"Looks like he already has!" 

Goldar chuckled wickedly. "I shall let you say something to her," he said. "Briefly!" 

Azure caught her breath as fast as she could. "Aura," she whispered. "Don't." 

"I can't let them hurt you, Azure!" she declared. "I won't let anyone hurt you, not without paying for it!" 

Azure's breathing was irregular as she tried to speak. "Can't. ..fight my battles. ..forever. .." 

"It's my job, Azure," Aura whispered softly. "It's why I live. . ." _and how I make up for not being there with Eric that first time._

Azure shook her head. "No. .. your kids. . .are now. your. ..," she could no longer stay awake, passing out cold in her chains. Goldar stepped in front of them. 

"So, what is it to be?" 

Aura looked at Tommy, tears and strength both shining from her eyes. "I'm going. I won't let them hurt her anymore." 

"So will I," Tommy nodded. "Tell Kim what happened," he looked at the others. "And that I love her." 

Aisha nodded. "We will. And we'll get you both back, and Azure!" 

Aura shook her head. "If you can just get_ her_ back, that's good enough for me." 

"Not for me it isn't," Billy said, kissing her tenderly. Aura smiled and returned it with all her heart and soul. 

"I love you so much, Billy," she whispered. "Find her." 

"What is your answer, Rangers?" Goldar grunted. Aura turned to him, fire in her eyes. 

"Where do you want us to meet you?" 

Goldar laughed; he'd known they'd give in! "In the park, by the pond!" he ordered. 

"We'll be there," Aura nodded. "And you'd better release Azure!" 

"We'll see you there," was all Goldar said as the transmission ended. Aura nodded briefly and turned to Tommy. 

"Come on," she said bluntly. "The faster we're there, the faster we can get Azure," she looked to Billy. "Keep scanning for her, I don't think they're going to release her without a fight." 

"I will," Billy nodded, as the two of them teleported out, stony-faced. He sighed. _Got to get them all back now._ * * * 

"Ahh!" Goldar laughed as the two beams of amber and red light touched down. "I see that you have surrendered!" 

"Shut up, Goldar," Aura growled, not in the mood to listen to his pleasantries, or lack thereof. 

He snorted. "I shall let you see your sister one last time!" 

"Bring her out now!" Aura ordered, her hand on her morpher as she spoke. 

"I am taking you to her," Goldar explained. "Then she goes!" 

"She'd better," Aura snarled. "Or you and my Axe have a _very_ intense conversation!" 

Goldar gestured, showing them a glittering gateway. "Through there!" he laughed as Aura ran straight into it, heedless as always of her own safety where Azure was concerned. Aura glanced around, growling as she saw her sister on the floor. 

"Azure!" 

The young woman looked up, shaking even more when she saw who was there. "I should be mad at you," she whispered. 

"As long as you're safe," Aura shook her head. "That's what matters." 

"You shouldn't have," Azure whispered. Aura smiled. 

"You always tell me that," she said, even as Azure insisted that she meant it this time. "You're going to be getting out of here, Azure." 

Her sister shook her head. "He isn't going to let me go." 

"He'd_ better_!" Aura growled. Azure sighed. 

"He isn't. He already said so." 

Aura's eyes flashed. "He's not going to have a choice. He lets you go, or I will slice him like a pizza!" Azure held onto her sister tenderly and carefully. 

"I'm scared." 

"Don't be," Aura whispered softly. "Billy's looking for a way to get you out of here, as a back-up plan." 

Azure cried gently. "I hope so!" 

"Shhhh," Aura held her with all her love. "It'll be all right." 

The touching moment of love between two sisters was broken when Goldar jerked Azure away from Aura. "Time to leave!" 

"She goes first!" Aura insisted. "She goes_ home_, her home!" 

Goldar nodded. "She is going to leave first," he chuckled. 

"Don't you _dare_ hurt her!" Aura growled. Goldar laughed. 

"I won't!" and then he and Azure were both gone. Aura looked over to Tommy; the gateway they'd entered by had vanished as soon as they were all there. 

"You trust him?" 

The Red Ranger shook his head. "Never have, never will." 

"Me either." 

Goldar reappeared. "Time for you two to go to your new home!" he taunted. Aura stood up, resigned to this. 

"Let's get on with it then." 

They were taken to two small, harsh-looking cells that brought back painful memories for both of them of other imprisonments by evil. Aura snorted. "This place stinks," she said flatly. "What is it, your private quarters?" she winced as he smacked her hard across the face for that. "My mistake," she grinned a little. "Your room probably smells _worse_!" 

"You will _pay_ for your insolence!" Goldar growled as he punched her as hard as he could. Aura fell to one side, then sprang to her feet, glaring at him. With a punch at least as strong as his, she returned the blow. Goldar didn't intend to play fair, however, as he caught her by one wrist and threw her _hard_ into a wall. Aura's head struck against the cement and she sank to the floor, barely conscious. 

Goldar stalked over to her and dragged her to the cell, chaining her up. "I shall _enjoy_ torturing you!" he laughed softly. The plans he had in mind were quite. . .interesting." 

"Haven't you done enough to both her and her sister?" Tommy growled. He had been locked in his own cell before Aura and Goldar started their little quarrel, or he would've been there helping his friend. Goldar snorted. 

"Never!" 

"You are complete slime, Goldar!" he declared. The monster just shrugged. 

"You're going to die," he said simply. 

Tommy had an answer for him, though. "Better than having to stare at _your_ ugly face for all eternity!" 

"How does being burned at the stake at dawn sound to you?" 

The Red Ranger shrugged. "Painful, but still better than looking at you!" Goldar laughed and vanished, leaving them to whatever thoughts would accompany them in their last hours. Tommy shook his head; Goldar had _never_ been too bright, and hanging out with Divatox hadn't improved him. The Red Ranger gave a powerful kick, knocking his cell door down, then went over to Aura. "Aura?" he asked quietly. "Can you hear me?" 

The lastborn of Kalakan's children moaned a little. "T. ..Tommy?" 

"Shhhhh," he glanced around, hoping no one heard them and came to investigate. Aura winced as she came back to full awareness. 

"I keep forgetting how strong he is," she muttered. _Yeesh! My head feels like someone cracked it open and poured dynamite inside!_

Tommy nodded. "Somehow, we are going to get out of here. Before tomorrow morning, if at all possible." 

"Personally, I'd rather be out of here now!" 

He agreed with her completely. "I hope he really did send Azure home, but I seriously doubt that he did." 

"So do I," Aura nodded. "One thing I've learned about Goldar, he's worse than Zedd when it comes to keeping his word." 

Tommy glanced down, unable to get the image of the shaking Azure out of his mind. "What I want to know if what happened to make her _that_ scared." 

"I'm going to find out," Aura's voice was firm and strong as Tommy started trying to get the cuffs off her. "Did Goldar say anything worthwhile after he knocked me out? Anything that might give a clue as to what he has planned?" 

"Only that he was going to torture you and burn me alive." 

Aura sighed melodramatically. "Great. You'd think that they'd come up with something _original._" 

"Hey, it's the first time they've tried burning us!" 

"True," Aura nodded. "But Power Rangers aren't very flammable." 

Tommy raised an eyebrow. "They are when unmorphed." 

"True," Aura agreed. "We have to get _you_ out of here too. I've lived through torture before."_ and I seriously doubt anything Goldar can come up with can top what Zedd did to me._

He shook his head. "Barely. And you were gone, what, fifty thousand years?" 

"Actually just a bit over nine months, to me, anyway," she corrected. "And to you guys, about two days." 

"Whatever," he grinned, pulling at the chains. "Hold on a second!" he shook his head, pulling out his Turbo Key. "Gonna bring out the firepower!" 

"Good!" Aura declared. "I don't like hanging up here like a side of beef!" 

"Shift into Turbo!" Tommy ordered, hoping their powers worked here. "Red Lightning Turbo Power!" they both were pleasantly surprised to see him morphing! He quickly blasted the chains off Aura and grinned under his helmet. "What do you say you morph and we leave?" 

"Sounds good to me!" Aura declared, pulling forth her morpher. Once both of them were in full uniform, Tommy suggested, "Why don't we try the easy way out first?" 

Aura nodded. "Sure. But if Goldar shows up at any point before we're out of here, he's all mine!" 

"Guys," Tommy hit the button on his communicator. "Guys, can you read me?" 

They waited for a few nervous moments, until Billy's voice came through. "Read you loud and clear, Tommy!" 

"Did Azure get sent home?" both of them weren't surprised to hear Adam's harsh denial of that. "Teleport us home. Before I go kill Goldar." 

Aura shook her head. "That's _my_ job, Tommy!" 

"We'll share." was all he had time to see before they were both returned to the Power Chamber. The first words out of Aura's mouth were, "If Goldar shows up _anywhere_, he is _mine_! No one double-crosses me!" 

No one had the nerve to tell her no, not even Adam, not when he saw the look of pure hatred in her eyes. The Amber Ranger was _not_ happy. 

"Incoming transmission," Billy said suddenly. "On screen." 

Everyone looked as an image formed there, and a sharp, familiar scream sounded. "Azure!" Adam shouted as they were shown the young woman hanging over a pit! She was slowly being lowered into it, kicking and screaming all the way. They heard Goldar's voice. 

"Since you refused to stay, she is going now to die a slow death, and be able to _watch_ herself die the whole way!" 

"NO!" Aura screamed. "Let her go!" 

"Help me!" Azure bellowed, kicking and struggling as much as she could with her arms tied above her head. "Let me go!" 

Adam shouted, "Goldar, let her go! Don't you dare hurt her!" 

"Never!" Goldar laughed. "Never!" 

Aura's eyes were almost literally molten gray fire. "I'm going to kill you, Goldar," she swore. "Slowly and with great attention to detail!" 

"In your dreams," he laughed. "I shall let you watch her for a little while longer, but I have plans for her!" there was another laugh, and then the voice went silent. 

"Someone!" Azure screamed. "Please, help me!" 

Aura whirled on her husband. "Billy, find a way to get me to her _now_!" 

Billy was already looking, but swore. "Damn! They bounced their signal, it's going to take _hours_ till we figure out where it came from, and by then, who knows that they could be doing or have done to her!?" 

Adam stared at the image on the viewscreen. "Azure, I love you!" he cried, as she echoed the same words with his name. Slowly, the rope holding her above the pit began to break. 

**The End**


	48. Hostage Amber

**Hostage Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

It was a nervous tension in the Power Chamber as the Rangers searched to a way to get to Azure Park, being held suspended over a pit of sharp spikes and slowly lowering into it. Divatox and Goldar, an unholy alliance if there ever was one, were holding her captive and had bounced the signal they'd used to show their prisoner off so many different places that even Billy was having problems finding her. 

Adam paced back and forth, his eyes blazing as he held Jeni, one of his daughters, in his arms. Aura wasn't pacing, but the look in her icy gray eyes spoke volumes of what she planned to do to Goldar if she ever got the chance. Billy hit the console in frustration. "This is exasperating," he muttered, glancing first to his friend, then his wife. Rocky was the only Ranger near enough to hear him just then. "He's nearly as bad as I was when Zedd had Aura for that month." 

The Blue Turbo Ranger shivered a little. "Let's hope Azure doesn't go through what she did!" the memory of Aura's devastated eyes and heart when they'd rescued her that time was still with them all. 

"I know," Billy nodded. "We can't send her fifty thousand years into the past to heal." 

"You've got to find her," Rocky whispered. "I seriously pity Goldar if Aura and Adam both get their hands on him right now." 

Billy nodded as Zack played with Adam and Azure's oldest daughter Katia, trying to get her to stop crying. "Your mommy is going to be home soon!" he told her, then glanced over at Adam. "Would you sit down?" 

Aura paced a little herself as the child kept crying. She half-growled, "I'm just about ready to go ask Alaina if she knows anything!" the Amber Ranger declared. She didn't like using the strange gift of her eldest daughter, but in this case, she was willing to consult tea leaves if that was what it took! "Or better still, ask my mother!" 

Adam was flatly ignoring Zack, who growled under his own breath. This guy was almost as stubborn as Azure herself! "Hey! Aisha told me what happened when something like this happened to Aura, and what you kept threatening to do to Billy. So if you don't calm down and _sit_ down, I'll have Alpha there give you a sedative. . .a _big_ one!" 

As Adam finally sat down, cowed by the threat his fellow former Ranger uttered, Aisha went over to Aura. "Maybe we _should_ ask Alaina," she suggested. "It couldn't hurt.' 

Aura sighed. "I know. Let's go; and I hope she does know something." 

"Let's hope it's _good_," Zack qualified; there were things that they knew they would not _want_ to find out going on. Aura nodded as Zack tried again to get Katia to stop crying. The former Black Ranger glanced up at his friend. "Is she _usually_ like this if Azure is away for more than hour?" 

"Usually," Aura nodded. She'd had to put up with it when she baby-sat for her sister and Adam on occasion, and it was_ not _a quiet evening then. 

Zack chuckled. "Mommy's little girl, huh? Shhh. . .Mommy is on her way home!" 

"Let's go talk to Alaina," Aura suggested to Aisha, smiling faintly as Katia simply kept on crying. The sound of the unhappy little girl was the only thing to accompany the amber and yellow flares of light they dissolved into as they teleported away. 

* * *

Alaina Azure Cranston, firstborn daughter of the first Amber Ranger of Earth, possessed of strange and unusual powers to see the past, present, and future, examined her opponent for a few moments, then casually hauled back and hit Alexander Neras Cranston, future Amber Ranger of Earth and firstborn son of the current and first Amber Ranger of Earth, with a pillow. Alex squealed, hitting her back, and a full scale pillow fight was going on in minutes. 

It was broken by the harsh sound of a throat being cleared, and the rambunctious twins looked up to see their mother, along with Aisha, standing in the doorway of their room, her arms folded and a serious look in her eyes. "Just what are you doing?" Aura asked, barely able to hold back a smile despite the seriousness of Azure's situations. Her firstborn were always able to make her laugh, it seemed. 

"Pillow fight," Alaina whispered. 

"Why?" Aura tried to be the stern motherly figure, but couldn't when her offspring's only answer was an ubiquitous 'dunno'. She smiled just a little. "Alaina, I need to talk to you about something." 

Alaina stared at her brother. "He started it!" she declared harshly, and was just as harshly denied by the older twin. They were in a full scale tongue war when it was broken up. 

Aisha's voice cracked like a whip. "Alaina. This is serious!" 

The twins didn't appear to be behaving, until Aura frowned and growled, "Alaina! Alex! No dessert for either of you if you don't behave!" 

"Sorry," her two oldest children chorused as they both looked abashed at her. Aura marched over to them. 

"Alaina, we need you to try and see Aunt Azure," she said, looking into her daughter's eyes. "To see where she is and what's happening to her." 

Alaina nodded, assuming almost at once the serious persona she always did when seeing what was to come. She quickly ran into her room, coming back a moment later with a stuffed bunny that Azure had given her. She closed her eyes, hugging the stuffed animal, and opening her mind up to whatever might enter it. Long moments passed as everyone watched carefully. 

Then, suddenly Alaina screamed, opening her eyes in panic. "Alaina!" Aura put a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Alaina, what did you see?" 

"He hurt her," the little girl whispered. "He hurt her." 

Aisha clenched her fists. "Who?" 

"Gold monkey," Alaina whispered, and Aura's eyes sparked with anger. Alaina kept on speaking, though, in her trance-like state. "Someone else is standing there. . .can't see him. ..Aunt Azure is crying." 

Aura's fists clenched. "He'll pay for this," she swore, as Aisha asked what else could be seen. 

"Dungeon," Alaina whispered. "Very little light. ..wait, this isn't right." 

The Amber Ranger frowned. "What is it?" they had learned not to ask too much during Alaina's induced trances, but a few questions occasionally helped clarify things. 

"I can feel her lost baby inside her," the girl whispered with soft wonder. "This is a memory." 

Aura moved a little closer to her. "Can you see who else is with her? Who is near?" 

Alaina shook her head, coming out of the trance. "Only getting memory!" 

Her mother thought for a moment, whispering to herself. Then she snapped her fingers. "I know when it happened! When we were in that other universe!" 

Aisha raised her eyebrows. "Right before she lost her baby?" 

Aura nodded. If she's seeing Goldar, then. ..," a harsh growl startled them all. "Then it must be Zedd, the other person that Alaina couldn't see." 

"Baby started to die then," Alaina whispered, wrapping her arms around her mother. "Mommy, can I stay with you?" 

Aura held her child, stroking her hair tenderly. "Yes, Alaina," she whispered. "I should never have asked you to look for her, but I'm so worri---" 

She was interrupted by her daughter's screaming again. "What is it?" 

"Gold monkey!" Alaina wailed. Aura half-growled; what was Goldar going to be doing now that Alaina was seeing? 

"What's he doing?" 

"Standing behind you." 

Aura whirled, eyes blazing as she took in the hideous form of Goldar _in her house!_ How_ dare _he intrude upon her private sanctuary! "Hello, Amber Ranger!" the monster laughed harshly. 

"Leave my house, Goldar!" she demanded, about to hand Alaina to Aisha and administer some _serious_ bodily damage to this thing! She had had _more_ than enough of him! 

"Not until we talk," he challenged her. Aura only wanted one thing, though: Azure's release. Goldar was having none of that, however. "Sorry!" he mocked. "Since I no longer have you to torture and do other things to," the way he was looking at her left _no_ doubts as to what he had in mind. "I am going to have to do them on her!" 

Aura's mind and body revolted at that thought. No one was ever going to that to Azure, she'd sworn that years ago, and no one would ever make her revoke that oath! "No!" 

"Then meet me in the park in one hour, no powers, no communicator! he challenged her. Aura already knew her answer. 

"I'll be there," she didn't need to think about it. She knew what she had to do. 

"Good!" her opponent declared as he vanished. Aisha looked at Aura as if she'd grown another head. 

"You _can't_ be serious!" 

Aura's eyes were totally flat. "For Azure, I'd do anything," she declared. Though she fought alongside the Rangers, her ultimate loyalty lay in two fields: the Earth she'd sworn to protect and the family that had nurtured her in many ways. 

"What about your family?" Aisha asked quietly, as Alaina sobbed out that Goldar wouldn't let Azure go even then. 

Aura glanced at her friend, and Aisha shivered at the sternness in those gray eyes. "I'll be all right, Aisha. I'll teach him what it means to harm my family!" 

"No go, Mommy!" Alaina cried, trying to get Aura's attention. The motherly Ranger glanced down at her. 

"Alaina?" she asked. "Do you just want me to not go, or have you seen something?" 

The little girl shook her head. "He won't let Aunt Azure go! He still will hurt her!" 

"Do you know how we can get her back?" 

Alaina's voice was eerily adultish when she replied. "Not yet. Can I come with you to see big floaty head?" 

"Of course," Aura smiled, picking her up. They might not have gotten what they came for, but it was entirely possible that with her fight with Goldar, they would get what they needed. 

* * *

Divatox, Queen Pirate of the Universe and current annoyance to the Power Rangers Turbo, laughed harshly at the terrified Azure Park as she huddled in a corner, crying. They'd removed her from over the pit almost as soon as the transmission was over with; it had been mainly to frighten the Rangers anyway. There were just too many other things to do with her to simply kill her! "Goldar, she is truly terrified! I like it!" 

"And I didn't even do a thing!" the huge monster was a little confused, but wasn't going to complain over it. He had quite a few things on his mind, not the least of which was his combat with Aura. He had been looking forward to that for a very long time. 

"It must be the other Goldar," Divatox said, referring to the version of him from the world of the Night Rangers. Azure moaned, bringing their attention back to her. 

"Leave me alone," she whispered, her mind filled with images of what had been inflicted on her in that other universe. "Leave me alone, please." 

Divatox poked at her coldly. "You're going to be here forever!" she laughed. 

Goldar grinned as his hands drifted over her, touching in places that only Adam had the right to. "You are my toy now," he laughed. "Get used to it!" 

"And your sister is going to die!" Divatox smiled at the look of horror and revulsion mixed that spread across Azure's face at that. 

"No," she whispered. "Not Aura.. ." _not my sister, not her!_

Divatox mocked her pain. "We could always take one of your precious children!" as Azure moaned a denial, Divatox chuckled. "Goldar, we are going to enjoy tormenting her for a _very_ long time!" 

"Very long!" he echoed, increasing what he was doing. "Your sister will get this done to her before she dies as well!" Goldar promised Azure. Divatox squealed in delight. 

"Ohh, you never said you were going to do that to her!" 

The monster grunted with pleasure. "I know what it takes to break the Robinson sisters!" he declared. Creatures of evil of all types had sought that secret, but he was the one who had found it, and would use it to destroy them! 

Azure's eyes glazed over with fear and she stiffened up. "Not again," she whispered. "Not again," _Aura almost died because of what Zedd did. Goldar CAN'T do it to her!_

"Ohhh!" Divatox laughed. "What's the matter, little Azure?" 

The question was never answered, though, as Azure let her mind fade away into catatonia, the last refuge for all that hurt her. She would not stay to face this. She would not. 

* * *

Aura had just finished relating the details of Goldar's visit to their house when Alaina, still holding the stuffed bunny, began to cry. "He touched her!" the little girl wailed, tears streaming down her face. "In not nice places!" 

Aura's eyes were almost literally on fire as she held her daughter. Adam's were almost the same. "He'll pay for it, too," the former Ranger declared. 

"I know where she is!" that got attention from everyone there! "In a cell. Underground. Near here. I can feel her nearby, but she feeling no emotion." 

"We have to get her out of there!" Adam growled as Billy started to scan every cave system in the area. Alaina looked up at her mother. 

"I did good?" 

Aura hugged her tightly, smiling grimly. "You did _very_ good, Alaina." 

"Found her!" the triumphant call came from Billy a moment later. "But you may not like what you see," he glanced over at his wife and mouthed softly, "Cover Alaina's eyes." 

Aura did so, then as Billy brought up the scene on the screen, a collective growl went through the Power Chamber. Every Ranger and person there uttered oaths that should have had Aura covering her daughter's ears as well, and Alpha heard words that probably hadn't been uttered in fifty thousand years coming from Aura's mouth. 

"Computers working on a lock," Billy growled. "And we've got it!" 

"Hurry up!" Adam shouted. He was _not_ going to hold off any longer! 

"Teleporting now!" Billy's voice was triumphant as a column of white light turned into the familiar form of Azure, now huddling against the back wall of the Power Chamber, staring into nothingness. Adam raced over to her, glad to see her eyes soften as he called out her name. 

He knelt by her, embracing her in his arms. "Azure," he whispered. "You're safe. . ." 

"Not again," she trembled against him. "Not again." 

Adam shook his head. "You're safe, Azure! He's not here!" 

"Aura. . .," Azure whispered, looking up at her older sister, who quickly came over. The two of them held each other, Aura providing support as she had so many other times for the sister she loved so dearly. 

"You're safe, Azure," Aura whispered. Azure looked her squarely in the eyes and shook her head. 

"He. . .he wanted to do this to you, and then kill you!" she managed to gasp out between sobs. Aura's eyes sickened, and she shook her head. 

"Well, he's not going to do either of it!" she declared. Now that she knew that, she had an advantage in the fight that he didn't know about. And the Rangers of Amber were never averse to using advantages. 

Azure whispered softly, "Wanna go home. . ." 

"I'll take you home, Azure," Adam held her gently in his arms, and flanked by Tommy and Kat in full Turbo gear for protection, the young couple teleported away. 

As the streams of white, red, and pink vanished, Aura's eyes turned to purest gray steel, and with a twist of her wrist she summoned up the Axe of Earth. Billy looked at her, and knew without even having to ask what she was going to do. 

"You don't have to," he said quietly. "She's safe and all it would do is put you in more danger." 

She shook her head, testing the balance of her weapon with more seriousness than she ever had before. One look at her face told Zordon plainly that she was not going to back down from this. There was nothing he could do about it, either. She was stone-cold set on it. 

"It's more than honor," she said, and in her voice there glowed a hint of her Kalakan ancestry. "It is what I am, Billy. I am a Ranger. I am a warrior against evil. I might not kill him, and he might not kill me. But this fight must be done. For me, for her, and for all that we hold dear. If I back down from it, then that will be a weapon he can use against us in the future. I will not have that. A defeat for him against me, after we have already freed Azure, will be an insult to _his_ honor that will push him off balance in the future." 

Billy looked at her, and couldn't help but smile, and take her into his arms. "Come back to me safely," he whispered. "I love you." 

* * *

"So you have come," Goldar stared at the Amber Ranger as she stood in the park, armed only with whatever feeble martial arts skills she had against all of his might. "You have come to die." 

Aura smiled softly. "I have come to fight you," she said simply. "I do not expect you to fight with honor, though I shall," her words held a formal tone that she used as a weapon as well, and could see it disturbing her enemy. "If you are ready, honored opponent? I wish to return home to visit my sister." 

Goldar only roared in pure rage and charged at her, sword upraised. Aura moved to one side simply, and watched with a smile on her face as he proceeded to smash his face into a tree. _Strong as an ox, dumb as a brick,_ she thought. _And if I've got anything to say about, going to be as infertile as a eunuch one of these days._

She backflipped quickly as he charged her again, her tactics relying more on speed and dexterity than on simple brute strength. She had always known she was no match for him physically on her own; she'd learned that the hard way during their first battle. But Aura's advantage lay in her brain, and she used it unmercifully: to remember her battle lessons with her father. 

_Make an enemy angry and they lose their edge_, he'd taught her. _ But be careful you do not lose your own in return_. "So, Goldar, decided it was time to come out of retirement to bother us again?" she taunted, sliding to the side again and again. He wanted to grapple with her, but she was having none of it. 

"I came to destroy you!" he roared. 

"Tsk, tsk, not doing a very good job of it, are you?" she chuckled. "Maybe you should take up knitting or something. That would work, I think, for you. You've got a big enough knitting needle there." 

Another howl of rage and another charge was all Aura was waiting for. She had no intentions of making this a long-drawn out fight, and she was going to deliver a very pointed message to him _not_ to bother her or her family ever again. "Oh, I don't know," she slipped away again as he stood panting and glaring at her. "I think even _knitting_ would be too hard for you really. Try. . .fingerpainting?" 

That got what she wanted. As he charged for her, she set herself, and sent up a silent prayer to the gods of her ancestors that what she was trying worked. Goldar was certainly in the perfect position for it: sword upraised, eyes burning, and his most vulnerable area wide open for one of her favorite attack moves. 

Aura Robinson Cranston was a tall woman, roughly five feet ten, but slenderly built. Her frame did not show the raw rugged muscle that she had developed over her years of being a Ranger. But when she pulled back her foot and delivered what had to be the world's most perfect kick to Goldar's male area, that stopped the fight right then and there. 

Goldar halted in his tracks, dropping the sword from suddenly nerveless fingers, and stared at her, his ruby-red eyes round with shock. Aura grinned as she walked over to him and delivered an equally perfect uppercut that knocked him flat on his back. Standing over him, she said quietly, "If you _ever_ harm me or any of my family again, you will die. You have been warned." 

With that said, she made a motion, knowing that Billy would be watching her. She dissolved into her customary column of brown light, and returned to the Power Chamber, feeling somehow satisfied. ..but yet. .unfulfilled. There was still something missing. . .and she just didn't know what it was. 

* * *

She was starting to figure it out that night though. What was missing was a sense of safety. Not for herself or her children or husband, but for her sister and Azure's family. Azure's safety had been important to her for as far back as she could remember, and she felt she was failing in that now. 

As she lay next to Billy that night, she could tell he knew something was on her mind. He wasn't going to press her, though. After their years of friendship and marriage, he wouldn't have to. She'd tell him when it was time. 

_Somewhere safe. Neither of them is a Ranger, and I doubt Azure would be one if she could. And we can't have Tommy and Kat standing guard over them constantly. But I have to do something. I wish Father was here. He'd know what to do, I bet,_ she'd found herself thinking often about Neras these days, remembering the strength and love that the two of them had forged in the last days of Kalakan. 

Her eyes widened suddenly as the name of her home planet wafted through her mind, and she went stiff. "Something wrong, Aura?" Billy asked quietly. 

"No," she shook her head, then decided to tell him. "I . . might know a way to protect Adam, Azure, and their kids, that's all.. . .But. .." 

"But what?" 

Aura sighed. "I'm not sure if they'd like the idea, but it's the only thing I can think of." 

He looked at her gently. "What is it?" 

"Remember New Kalakan? Where my mother, David, and Samuel are?" she asked. Billy nodded, and she continued. "They could go there. There's no way that Goldar or anyone evil could get there. Mother's bonded herself with that world now, she's got all her sorceress powers back and more. I've heard they're even considering finding the Heart of it, so they could chose someone to be it's Ranger for it, like I am for Earth." 

Billy sighed. "You're right. They may not like it, but. .." 

"That's why I don't want to say anything about it just yet to them." 

He agreed. "I won't say a word, that is a promise. But we'll have to tell them soon." 

Aura nodded. "We'll tell them when the time is right, whenever that is." 

"When she won't jump at shadows anymore?" Billy smiled as he kissed her fairly seriously and tenderly. Aura smiled softly and nodded, returning the embrace. They both groaned suddenly when they heard the sounds of fighting coming from the twins' room. "Okay, this house isn't exactly all love! Alex, Alaina, don't make me come up there!" 

When nothing calmed down for a while, Aura half-shouted, "You two behave, or no visits to the Heart for a month!" 

Instant silence reigned. Aura giggled. "Alex hates it when I don't take him to the Heart!" 

"So does Alaina," Billy sighed. "She seems to be holding up all right, considering what she saw Goldar do to Azure. I wonder why Azure never told us about her being beaten by Goldar, though." 

Aura shrugged. "Don't know. But I'm going to ask." 

He nodded. "But first, you and me have some stuff to talk about!" he grinned as Aura raised her eyebrows in query towards him. 

"What sort of stuff?" she asked, a smile teasing her lips. 

Billy leaned over and picked up an envelope on the table next to him. "You'd better read this!" 

Aura read through it quickly, then smiled. "When did Zack and Aisha even start _dating?_ Much less engaged?" 

"Who knows," Billy shrugged. "But I intend on finding out!" 

"You and me both!" 

Billy smiled. "We're going to meet them at the Youth Center tomorrow. We can ask then," everything else was forgotten, however, as he leaned over and began to seriously nibble on her neck. 

* * *

Azure held her daughter Jeni in her arms, rocking back and forth and trying not to think too hard of all that had happened. She glanced up as Adam entered the room. "How are you feeling?" his soft voice asked. 

"Been better," she replied just as softly. Adam nodded. 

"It's going to be all right, Azure," he assured her. Azure smiled a little. 

"With you around, and that permanent lock on me that the Power Chamber has on me, I'm not as scared." 

Adam smiled as he sat down next to her. "You'll never be scared again if I have anything to say about it." 

"Adam," she reached out to gently touch his hand. "I need to tell you the truth. About what happened when I miscarried while on Elissa and Evanthe's world." she shivered, wishing she didn't have to think about that just yet. 

Adam nodded slowly. "All right." 

She took a deep breath. "Their Zedd let his Goldar beat me to within an inch of my life, then used me as bait to get Aura." 

Adam shivered. "I wish the Night Rangers the best of luck in defeating him." 

"So do I," she nodded. "Then he let Finster do some kinds of experiments on me. That's when I was injected with that potion that almost killed me. Adam, Zedd must have read my thoughts, because he sort of knew what his counterpart here did to Aura, and he tried to do them to me!" she leaned against him as he put an arm around her tenderly. "I love you Adam, with all my heart," she whispered. 

"I love you too, Azure." 

She sighed. "I just wish I could feel safe leaving the house again." 

"You will again," he promised. She could almost sense his determination to keep her safe, and knew it was equaled and surpassed only by Aura's. 

"Soon," she hoped. "My medical leave from the hospital doesn't last much longer." 

Adam wrapped his arms around her. "You'll be safe, no matter what!" he insisted. Azure looked down at the young girl in her arms and smiled. 

"I think I'd better put her to bed. She finally fell asleep." 

Adam smiled. "She looks so beautiful asleep." 

"Just like her father." 

"Just like her mother," Adam returned the compliment as Azure put their second child into the crib. 

One of the most abused and sought-after {for various reasons} women in the universe turned to look at her husband. "Why don't we spend a little quality time together, just holding each other?" 

Adam smiled. "That sounds good," hand in hand, the two of them headed out to the living room, their favorite place to snuggle with each other. As they curled up together, Azure looked at him. 

"Anything interesting in the mail?" 

Adam nodded. "Well, yes, actually!" 

"I was hoping you'd say no," she sighed. "What is it?" _if it's another one of those `you may have already won', I'm going to scream. _She caught the square of paper that Adam threw her and read it quickly. suddenly, she started to laugh. "This is almost as big a surprise as what we pulled when we got married!" 

"Just about!" 

Azure grinned as she hugged him tightly. "At least we got an invitation to the wedding. I don't think the others have ever fully forgiven us for eloping!" 

"I don't think so either." 

Azure grinned as she nibbled at his neck, some of her playfulness returning as Adam gently caressed her. She winced suddenly as he accidentally reached a sore spot. "Sorry!" whispered Adam, and she smiled, shaking her head. 

"It's okay," she leaned close to him. "It'll heal." 

* * *

Jason, Kim, Trini, Tommy, Rocky, Kat, Justin, Billy, Adam, Aura, and Azure, along with several others, including various offspring, were watching as Zack and Aisha did various things on the practice mats in the Youth Center the next day. They had started out sparring, but things had quickly become rather heated, leading to a kiss that was just short of needing to turn on the fire alarms. 

Aura cleared her throat. Loudly. It had the desired effect, getting the two lovebirds' attention. Zack blushed deeply. "I take it you guys got the invite?" 

"What makes you think that?" Tommy grinned. Zack chuckled. 

"The fact that some of you are holding them in your hands," the former Black Ranger said dryly. Those who were holding blushed severely, while the two betrothed just grinned. 

Rocky shook his head. "Why didn't you two tell us?" 

"The right time just never seemed to show itself," Aisha told them. Kat chuckled. 

"At least you two invited us to the wedding," Kat declared, looking over at Azure and Adam with a smile on her lips. "Unlike some people!" 

Aura chuckled at the expression on her sister's face. "You two are going to have to wait a _long_ time before we forgive you for that, you know!" 

"What do you want us to do?" Azure shrugged. "Get married again so you guys can have a ceremony?" 

The Rangers looked at each other, and Aura said it. "Why not?" 

"Maybe sometime after Aisha and Zack's," Adam said. "But not until then." 

"All right," Tommy grinned. "But we'd better be invited this time around!" 

"You will be!" Azure assured him as she wrapped her arms around Adam. "But today is Zack and Aisha's day!" 

Kim smiled and nodded. "That it is!" 

"Good to see that some things are back to the way they're supposed to be," Aisha, held now in Zack's arms, smiled. She was glad to see Azure healing from all that had been done to her. They all knew there was a long way to go, though, and with Divatox and Goldar around, who knew what would happen next? 

Adam smiled as he kissed Azure deeply. "Yeah!" 

"Start that," Azure whispered. "And we're going home!" 

"Would you mind at all?" Adam whispered softly in her ear. She smiled and shook her head eagerly. 

"Not really," she told him. "But they might. We're here to celebrate. Think you could hold off just a little while?" 

Adam smiled. "No problem. But not _much_ longer." 

"Aura," Aisha said quietly. "I was wondering something, would you do me the honor of being my Matron of Honor?" 

Aura's eyes widened; she'd never imagined she'd be picked for that! Kim and Kat had both known Aisha longer than she had! But she wasn't going to turn it down, at least not right now! "I'd love to!" 

Zack looked at Jason. "Jason, want to be my best man?" he asked, and was welcomed with another agreement. "Then all that's left to do is the _rest_ of the arrangements!" 

"That shouldn't take too much time," Aisha murmured happily. Zack grinned. 

"No it shouldn't!" he whispered. "And I can't wait until the honeymoon!" 

Aisha faintly blushed and giggled. "Neither can I!" 

He held her close, gazing into her eyes. "Who said that we have to wait?" 

As the two of them started to kiss, Tommy cleared his throat a little. "We're still here, you know! he grinned. Aisha's eyes danced merrily. 

"Oh, really? I hadn't noticed!" 

Azure laughed. "Why don't we leave the lovebirds alone?" she suggested, whispering her own desire for privacy to her husband. Adam kissed her tenderly and nodded. She glanced to everyone else. "Congratulations, guys, but I need to talk to my husband about some things!" 

Aura chuckled. "And I think I know what those things are, too!" 

"Let's go, Azure!" Adam said, tugging lightly at her arm as she gave her sister a look. 

"You don't know me _half_ as well as you think!" she said in the spookiest voice she knew. Aura chuckled as the two of them left. 

"Oh, but I do, Azure," she smiled. "I know my sister." 

Billy laughed. "I don't know who she thinks she's fooling, but it is nice to see her smiling again!" 

Aura nodded. "That it is" she declared as Billy folded her in his arms. "That it is." 

"Very nice," Zack agreed, holding Aisha close to him. Maybe, just maybe, the former Ranger thought. . .they would actually get some peace this time. .. 

**The End**


	49. Distracting Amber

**Distracting Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

Deep in the heart of Divatox's Subcraft, her henchman and quasi-partner Goldar was pacing up and down, his red eyes blazing with fury over the latest insults to his attempts to destroy the Power Rangers and all that they held dear. 

The pirate looked up from where she was counting out her money and growled. "Would you stop the pacing!?" she growled. The last thing she wanted as she figured out how much she'd made on this Earth venture was to watch the latest reject to join her crew walk up and down so much. 

"I want those sisters!" he hissed. Ever since he had returned to the galactic evil villain circuit, the twin thorns of Aura Cranston and Azure Park had been in his side. If one of them wasn't beating the snot out of him in a battle, the other was healing her emotionally from whatever wounds he _did_ manage to inflict on her. The two of them _had_ to be joined at the hip somehow. 

Divatox groaned mentally. She wanted to forget about the Rangers, to immerse herself in her figures, but he just wouldn't let her!! "Go take them then!" she ordered. "But just stop the pacing, it's getting on my nerves!" 

"How can I? Those Rangers have them on a _constant, permanent_ lock!" 

She sighed again; how _dumb_ could he possibly be? On second thought, she realized, maybe that was a thought better not pursued. She might find the answer to it. "Then move _very_ fast, even the Rangers can't be everywhere at once, and they've got a wedding coming up! They'll be all distracted and won't be able to respond as quickly!" 

Goldar nodded, then raised another grip. "And that pesky former Ranger is getting on my nerves!" 

Divatox almost screamed. "Which one? The old green one?" when Goldar nodded, she delivered her verdict, in icy tones. "Kill him." 

The gold monkey stopped his pacing suddenly, then smiled, a sight to drive most people insane. "I've got it!" he much preferred working with Divatox than Zedd; she permitted him to have his own plans, and didn't trash them the way Zedd always had! _And that was why Zedd ended up dead!_

Once he was finished, Divatox laughed wickedly. "Excellent! We get everything we want then!" 

"Shall we?" Goldar growled. Divatox nodded, rising to her feet, the wealth around her forgotten. 

"Let's do it!" 

* * *

In a small church in Angel Grove, Aisha Campbell was fidgeting in her pure white wedding gown. "I am _soo_ nervous!" she whispered. 

Her matron of honor smiled. "Calm down, please, Aisha!" Aura urged. She was starting to have serious problems wondering if the Rangers should keep their powers as they moved on in life. She and Billy were a slightly special case; it wasn't as if she could pass her powers to anyone, they were built into her, and Billy refused to leave the team as long as she was still a fighting member. And with Divatox and Goldar out there, she had no intentions of going into retirement any time soon. 

Aisha shook her head. "I can't! I'm more nervous than the day I found out who the Rangers are!" 

Aura chuckled. "I wish I'd been there for that day!" 

"So do I," Aisha smiled. "But I'm glad you came along when you did." 

Aura chuckled a little. "So am I. But I do wish some of the things that led to me learning just who an what I am hadn't ever happened!" 

Aisha put a hand on her friend's arm. "You survived them, and soon, hopefully, we can all retire again. . .permanently!" 

The Amber Ranger sighed happily. "I can't wait for that day!" 

"Something's bugging you, isn't it?" Aisha looked at her friend. She hadn't missed the strange distance Aura had been putting between herself and the others lately, and she didn't like it. 

Aura just shrugged a little. "Nothing important." _just that the only way my dearest friend and sister can ever be safe could put them on an entirely different planet forever._

"You're not pregnant again, are you?" 

The eternal Ranger laughed a little. "No, not that I know of!" 

"Well, I know that you and Billy are hiding something, and I want to know what it is!" 

Aura shook her head. "Nothing at all, Aisha!" her eyes were _totally_ innocent, something she'd picked up from Adam. "Would we hide anything from you guys?" 

"How worried you are about Azure's recovery?" Aisha retorted. Aura practically flinched; she _knew_ it had always been a mistake to let anyone know how much she cared about some things. 

"You know I worry about Azure more than I breathe!" she tried to dissemble, but the Yellow Ranger was having none of that. 

Putting her hands on her hips, Aisha declared, "Spill it!" as Aura glanced around almost melodramatically, to see if anyone was around, Aisha tapped her foot. "What is it?" 

"Promise not to tell anyone, not even Zack?" once Aisha had promised, Aura whispered what she had come up with to her friend. Aisha's eyes went round with shock. 

"What!?" she couldn't believe her ears. "You're sure about this idea?" 

Aura shrugged. "I don't know. That's why we haven't said anything to them. I know they'd be safe there, but I don't know how they'd take the idea." 

Aisha nodded slowly, then screamed suddenly as a silvery-black portal opened up behind Aura. Before either of them could react, arms reached through and grabbed Aura, dragging her away moments before Aisha could get to her friend. 

_Why did this have to happen on my wedding day? _Aisha growled, gathering her skirts up and heading to where the guys were getting ready. Divatox and Goldar had gone too far this time. 

* * *

Zack adjusted his tie nervously, his fingers shaking as he did so. "Oh, man, I have _never_ been this nervous!" 

"You're going to be fine!" Jason smiled softly, helping his friend adjust the ornament. Zack, usually so cool, calm, and collected, was about ready to jump out of his skin with nervousness. 

"I hope so!" 

Jason chuckled. "I wonder who invented bow-ties," the former Red Ranger mused as he fixed Zack's. "I'd like to hint them down and shoot them; they're impossible to tie!" 

"I know, I know!" Zack complained as Jason finished up the tie. His former leader chuckled. 

"Probably why I got a clip on." 

The former Black Ranger looked long at his friend. "And why didn't you tell me they came in pre-tied?" 

"You didn't ask." 

The happy groom sighed somewhat melodramatically. "Just my luck," he glanced up as someone started to pound furiously on the door outside. "Who is it?" 

The angry, half-fearful voice of Aisha responded. "It's me! Let me in!" 

"Hey, I'm not supposed to see you till before we get married!" Zack teased, wondering what was upsetting his fiancée so much. 

"It's Aura!" Aisha almost shrieked, and with a tone in her voice that led Jason to opening the door to let her in. "Someone took her; this weird portal opened up and someone reached in and grabbed her, I didn't have time to do _anything!"_

Zack swore in more languages than Jason would have bet he knew. "Where's Billy?" 

"With Adam and Azure," Aisha said. Her bridal party consisted of almost all the female Rangers, past and present, and Azure as well, just as Zack's entourage held almost all the male Rangers. 

Zack nodded. "Jason, you'd better go tell them, but be careful of Azure. She's been doing better, but no need to take chances," Jason only nodded, grabbed his communicator, and teleported off; Zordon had given them permission to teleport in cases like this. "Can't they let even _one_ wedding slip by without doing something?" 

Aisha sighed. "Who knows?" 

* * *

Azure sighed happily as Adam emerged into the living room, dressed to the nines in his wedding tuxedo. Adam chuckled and glanced over at Billy, adjusting his collar in the mirror on the wall. "Are you ready?" 

"I've been ready since before I got here!" the Phantom Ranger chuckled. He was looking forward to seeing how Aura looked in her matron of honor gown; this was the first time she'd performed such a function. 

"Good," Adam smiled. "We need to get moving." As he spoke, he glanced over to Azure and saw the look in her eyes. He couldn't help but smile even wider. "Azure, we don't want to be late!" 

His wife smiled as she stood up and came over to him, "You're no fun!" 

"We can enjoy ourselves _after_ the wedding," he whispered softly in her ear, his lips caressing the skin lightly. Azure giggled as she kissed him. 

"I love you, Adam!" 

They were lost in the kiss, until Billy cleared his throat. "After the wedding!" 

"You're no fun!" Adam quoted, grinning as they started for the car. They all stopped suddenly when a column of white resolved into Jason, looking agitated. 

"Whoa, Jason, we're coming, we're coming!" Adam protested; this was so totally unlike the former Ranger to come looking for them by teleportation! And they weren't even late! 

"Guys, we've got a problem," Jason spoke quickly. "The wedding is sort of postponed, due to the matron of honor being kidnapped!" 

Billy and Azure both went pale, and Billy growled fiercely. Azure protested, "What!? I thought the Power Chamber had a lock on us!" 

"It happened so fast that I don't think that Alpha could have teleported her out; you know he would have if he could." 

Billy nodded. "I'm heading for the Power Chamber," he declared. "We have to get her back!" 

"Aisha and Zack are contacting the others," Jason told them. "Let's all get to the Power Chamber." 

"Let's do it!" Azure growled; she wasn't going to let _anyone_ ruin this wedding, especially not with the capture of her sister! 

* * *

Aura jerked against the chains that held her to the wall, practicing every curse she knew in English and Kalakan both, and wishing she'd paid more attention in her French classes in high school. She growled as Goldar entered the small cell she was in, walking over with a strange hideous glint in his red eyes. "Hello, Amber Ranger!" he laughed, his paw touching her neck almost gently. 

The Amber Ranger jerked away from him. "Let me go!" 

"Never!" Goldar laughed as he put his hand back on her neck, sliding it farther down in a mockery of a caress. Aura moved as far away from him as her chains allowed, demanding for him to keep his hand off her. Goldar slapped her harshly. "Don't you move away from _me_!" he ordered. 

"I don't even like being on the same _planet_ as you, what makes you think I'd stay within five feet of you!?" 

"Fine," Goldar chuckled. "Then your brother-in-law dies a slow and painful death!" 

Aura wished she could get the proper leverage to deliver a powerful kick to him. "Leave Adam out of this!" 

"I want your sister," Goldar told her. "And he is standing in my way of it!" 

"You harm any of my family, and I won't let death itself stand in my way of killing you!" 

Goldar just shook his head as his paws went over more and more of her, shredding her gown in the process. "We shall see!" The touch of him on her triggered a pure gut reaction in Aura; a true gut reaction, as she emptied them all over the golden monkey! He roared in rage, then backhanded her as hard as he could, knocking her head into the wall. As consciousness fled, the few things she was able to feel made her glad she wasn't able to feel more. 

* * *

As Billy performed actions that had become all too familiar over the last few years, a trembling Azure watched, held safe in the arms of her husband. Alpha waved his hands in shame. "Ay-yi-yi, I'm sorry, but I couldn't get to the teleportation controls fast enough!" 

"I understand," Billy forgave his friend. "Let's see if we can find her and get her out of there, fast!" he glanced over to Zack and Aisha, who had told the wedding guests that Aura had collapsed, and they were going to wait until she recovered to continue with the wedding. "We have a wedding ceremony that needs to be performed." 

Everyone nodded as Adam held onto his wife, who was still shaking in fear over what could be happening to her sister. "Shhh," Adam whispered into her ear. "She's going to be all right, Azure." 

"This isn't happening," the young woman whispered. "Not again." 

Kat laid a hand on Azure's shoulder. "We'll get her back," she insisted as Billy scanned repeatedly, searching for the woman he loved. 

"Any luck yet, Billy?" Tommy asked. Billy shook his head, swearing under his breath as he kept on searching. 

Rocky thought for a moment, then suggested, "Check that dimension she took you when she was split in two!" 

"Already did," Billy sighed. "Nothing there. I checked Divatox's Subcraft, every dimension I could think of!" 

Trini growled, trying hard to think of anything or anywhere else. "She's got to be _somewhere_!" 

"What about where they had me the last time?" Azure suggested; one very bad thing about them being kidnapped so often was the bad guys were running out of places to hold them! 

"Good idea," Jason suggested as Billy quickly scanned it. They held their breath as the results came in, and Billy almost visibly seemed to deflate. Adam had to ask, though. They had to hear the words out loud. 

"Any luck?" 

"Nothing!" Billy shook his head. "I've tried every place they've ever had any of us in and no luck!" 

Azure choked off a sob, threw a glance at Adam filled with despair and sorrow, then teleported out of the Power Chamber in tears. Billy held back a sigh. "Go after her, Adam, please. Goldar could try something with her if we're not careful." 

Adam nodded as he also melted into white light, that almost blotted out the sudden brightness in Tommy's eyes. "I got it!" the Red Turbo Ranger shouted. "There is one dimension you haven't tried, Billy." 

"What?" 

"The first one they had Azure in recently!" 

Billy remembered the not-long-past events, and smiled broadly. "You're right! I forgot about it!" he flipped a few switches, then smiled. "Coming up on the Viewing Globe now!" 

As they all turned to look, all the joy at finding Aura drained out of them all. Tommy looked as if he were going to be sick. "I'm glad Azure isn't here to see this," he whispered softly. "Can you get her out of there?" 

Billy nodded, already working on it. He wasn't going to let Goldar get away with this!!! 

* * *

Azure stared quietly into the waters of the pond she had found in the woods, trying to calm her thoughts. She _hated_ all the fighting, she hated all the times she or Aura or their children or husbands had been used against the Rangers or kidnapped or raped or all the other things that had happened to them. It made her sick to her stomach to think that the forces of evil considered them not dangerous, but just something to be played with or used. _If we're going to be in this fight, we should at LEAST ALL be able to defend ourselves, _she thought. _Neither Adam nor I have powers, but we're still in this. It's not right. We shouldn't be in it. I wish we could be gone. . .but where could we go that's safe? Is there a safe place?_

She jerked around as a soft, well-loved voice spoke behind her. "Azure?" Adam said quietly. She wiped away the tears and sighed. 

"Hi." 

"Billy's going to find her," Adam stepped towards her, and Azure turned around, about to say something, when her eyes went wide with shock and fear. 

"LOOK OUT!" 

Adam turned, frowning. "Huh?" that was all he got the chance to get out before a long, sharp arrow flew through the air and pierced his right shoulder, knocking him to the ground. 

Azure ran straight to him, kneeling beside him. "Hold in there, please!" she begged. "Adam, honey, can you hear me?" there was only a slight moan for response. "I'm going to get you back to the Power Chamber! You're going to be okay!" her hand shook like a leaf as she touched her communicator. "Billy! Teleport me and Adam back to the Power Chamber right now!" 

"All right!" Billy's voice came over the communicator, a twisted mix of sorrow and joy. "And some good news, I found Aura!" 

Azure sighed. "And I've got some bad news," she said, just as they were teleported. This wasn't a very good day. 

* * *

Goldar laughed as he looked down at Aura in the tattered remains of her gown, and with a flash of gold his sword appeared in his hand. "Time to die, Amber Ranger!" 

Aura glared up at him through blood and sweat. "You'll pay for it one day, Goldar!" she declared, her voice raspy and thick. 

The monster shrugged. "Whatever!" Aura only continued to glare, she intended to die staring at him if fate decreed she die that day. "Ready, Amber Ranger?" 

"Go to hell." 

Goldar's sword swung down in a mighty arc, and might well _have_ split Aura in two, if she hadn't vanished in a sudden sparkle of amber light. "What!?" he hissed in fury. "Nooo! Am I _never_ to kill a Ranger!?" he threw his eyes up to the ceiling in rage. "You will pay, Amber Ranger! You will pay!" 

* * *

When Aura appeared back in the Power Chamber, holding onto consciousness by sheer willpower alone, the first thing she saw was a crying Azure standing over Adam as Alpha tended to what looked like an arrow wound in his shoulder. She heard Alpha saying, "He's going to be fine, Azure. The arrow only entered his shoulder." 

Then her attention was taken away as Billy wrapped his arms around her tenderly, holding her and soothing the pain that racked her body away. "Billy," she whispered softly. 

"I'm here," he touched her forehead gently. "You need to rest." 

Aura smiled softly, then turned to look at Azure, wanting to know what was going on over there. Azure had a hold of Adam's hand and was repeatedly urging him to wake up. Aura absently noticed the arrow in one corner, and remembered having seen similar ones on Divatox's Subcraft; the pirate queen was most likely responsible, in some way, for the wounding of her friend. 

"A. ..Azure. . .," Adam's eyes flickered open suddenly, and Azure smiled through her tears, joy stabbing all through her. 

"Oh, Adam!" 

The former Ranger smiled as he touched his wife's cheek. "Don't cry, Azure. You look too beautiful like that." 

Azure held onto him, half-smiling and whispering, "Will we ever be free?" 

Billy and Aura both stiffened at that, and Billy leaned to whisper in his wife's ear, "Time to tell them, Aura." 

The Amber Ranger slowly made her way to her feet, and looked at her sister. "Yes, Azure," she said firmly. "I know a way." 

"How?" Azure stared; not believing many things at this moment, chief of them being that Aura was still standing after all she had went through. 

"It involves you and your family moving a very long way away," Aura continued. This was one of the hardest things she'd ever had to say, but to protect her sister she would do anything, even send her away. Looks of confusion raged all around the Power Chamber. "To New Kalakan." 

At the naming of the planet, Azure almost laughed. "You're joking, right?" 

Aura shook her head. "It's the safest place in the universe for you all," she told them. Azure bit her lip, realizing her sister was right. She glanced down at Adam, who was looking back at her. 

"We'd have to think about it." 

Aura nodded as she stepped over to Azure, shaking just a little. "I don't want to see you guys go, but it's the only place that Goldar and all the rest of the scum around here can't get to you." 

"I know," Azure looked up at her. "We'll let you know after the wedding." 

Aisha frowned briefly as she glanced over to Aura. "Are you up to this?" she asked, wincing a little at the condition of Aura's gown. The Power Chamber could probably fix that though; they'd fixed plenty of their clothes after particularly rough fights. 

Aura nodded brightly. "Of cou. . ..," her voice cut off in the middle of the word as the pain of what she'd endured caught up with her, and she collapsed into Billy's arms. The Phantom Ranger looked over at the bride. 

"I think you may want to find another matron of honor," he suggested, carrying his wife over to the medtable. Aisha sighed, then saw the Pink Ranger. 

"Kat, do you still have your dress from Kim's wedding?" she wondered. Kat nodded, then her eyes went wide. 

"You mean. . .you want me!?" she smiled broadly at Aisha's nod, then went to get her dress. The wedding proceeded, even if the matron of honor had to be replaced. 

* * *

After the wedding, at the reception held in the Youth Center, Azure glanced around at everyone. The absence of her sister was a near-physical wound in her soul, but she knew Aura would be all right. She and Adam had discussed everything while the wedding had went on, and they had come to their decision. Tears unshed stood in her eyes, and she glanced up as Kat touched her shoulder. "Are you okay?" 

"I will be," Azure sighed. "As soon as I can talk to all of you guys." she was surprised to see Kat gathering all the people together they were closest too, who knew their secret, the former and current Rangers alike. Azure still glanced at the floor, though. "I've got some good news and some bad news." 

"What is it?" Tommy asked. Azure took a deep breath. 

"Good news. Aura and Adam are going to be just fine tomorrow morning, after a good night's sleep." 

Everyone smiled; they hated seeing their friends hurt, and that was what seemed to be happening all the time. "So what's the bad news?" Rocky wondered. 

"Adam and I are moving to New Kalakan in a week." 

Kat's eyes widened, as did those of everyone there. "Are you sure?" 

"I am not going to risk Goldar and Divatox trying something on my family again," Azure said firmly. "Much less hurting my kids." 

"We're going to miss you all," Jason said softly. He had known the Robinson sisters from childhood, and had taken it almost as badly as Billy had when they had moved to New York. "A _lot!_" 

Azure sighed. "We're going to miss you too. But Adam agreed that this is for the best." 

"Does Aura know yet?" 

"No," Azure answered Rocky's question. "Billy doesn't even know yet," he had stayed with Aura and Adam in the Power Chamber, missing the wedding and reception both. 

"When are you going to tell them?" Trini wondered. Azure shrugged a little. 

"When she wakes up tomorrow," she told her. "Adam and I are going to take her and Billy out to breakfast and tell them there," she got up. "I should get back to my husband." 

She was startled when Rocky gave her a friendly hug. "I wish you and Adam and your whole family the best of luck there." 

"Thanks," Azure smiled, then pulled away, running out of the Youth Center in a mixture of happy and sad tears. Tommy sighed. 

"I hope they're happy there." 

Zack nodded. "I hope this is the right decision." 

They all did. 

* * *

Nothing was seen of Azure till the next day, when she and Adam practically appeared on Aura and Billy's doorstep. Her tears were gone now, and all the damage to her face was repaired, if you hadn't seen it, you wouldn't know if she'd ever wept at all. As she quietly knocked, she wrapped her fingers about Adam's hand. 

"Hi, Billy," she said quietly when her brother-in-law opened the door. He nodded quietly. 

"Hey, Azure, Adam! Come on in, good morning!" 

They came in, with Azure glancing around before going inside; she wasn't going to take any chances with sudden attacks, even here. Azure smiled briefly as she saw her sister there, a few bruises on her face still. "How are you this morning?" Azure asked. 

"Better than yesterday," Aura shrugged. She glanced closer at her sister. "You don't look so good." 

"Same could be said for you," Azure retorted; they had both went short on sleep the night before, haunted by nightmares. Aura shrugged again. 

"Nothing that hasn't happened before and that I can't deal with," she replied; she wasn't blas‚ about it, but she knew she could handle it. 

Azure smiled weakly, as she held onto Adam's hand. Adam glanced at his wife. "You want to tell them?" 

Azure took a deep breath. "Are Mom and Dad here?" she'd asked that they come as well; she'd wanted to tell them all. 

"They're in the kitchen, with the kids," Aura nodded quietly. Azure glanced from one face to the other. 

"I think we'd better go in there," she said. They moved quickly into the kitchen, where for the first time in some time, Azure was wrapped up in her mother's and father's hugs, that she returned with all her heart. Once the greetings were done, she turned to Adam. "You want me to tell them?" 

"Yeah," Adam nodded; he was busy trying to come up with an explanation to give his own parents soon, they had no idea of his Power Ranger identity. 

Azure glanced around from her sister to her parents. "Adam and I have a big announcement." 

"What?" her mother asked. "You're not pregnant again, are you?" a smile teased the corners of her lips. 

"No," Azure shook her head. "It's kind of sad news as well as good." 

Her father frowned. "Then what is it?" 

"Adam and I are moving," she said, noticing the sudden jerk of Aura's head to look at Billy. She must have suspected this. 

"This is kind of sudden," her mother said. "Where to?" 

Azure's grip hadn't loosened on Adam's hand. "To New Kalakan." 

"Where Shaya lives?" her father suggested; he hadn't ever been there, but he had heard it was a beautiful place. Aura and Billy had told them the 'behind the scenes' things that had happened the day before. As Azure nodded, Aura spoke quietly. 

"You're going to do it?" 

"Yes," Azure agreed. "Them trying to kill Adam was the final straw." 

Aura nodded, with tears in her gray eyes. "I don't blame you," she whispered. "but I will miss you!" 

"I'll miss you too!" Tears poured from Azure's eyes, no longer able to hold them back. "But who knows? Shaya might bring us when she visits!" 

Aura wrapped her arms around her sister, holding her close in her heart and mind and soul. "She'd better!" 

"You don't have to worry about my safety anymore then, huh?" Azure whispered. Aura smiled softly. 

"Guess not." 

Azure pulled back a little, and looked into her sister's eyes. "Why don't I believe you?" 

Aura chuckled. "I don't have to worry about you anymore. But I always will. Habits are hard to break." 

Her sister smiled as she wiped the tears from her eyes and turned to Alaina, watching everything with wide eyes. "Come and give your aunt a hug!" 

Alaina looked at her, her eyes widening even more, then suddenly ran over to her and hugged her hard. Azure was startled, then whispered softly, "Thank you for finding me, Alaina." 

"I love you, Aunt Azure," Alaina whispered. No one saw it, but in the back of the young girl's eyes there danced a strange joy and laughter. 

"As I love you, little Alaina," she whispered. "As I love you." 

**The End**


	50. Goodbye Amber

**Good-bye Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

"You couldn't even kill her, Goldar!" Divatox shrieked at the top of her lungs, her eyes blazing. "She wasn't even _moving_ and she got away!" 

Her latest servant snorted. "Excuse me for the Rangers teleporting her out!" 

"She's not even _suffering_ from everything else you did to her. She's been through it before!" 

Goldar's eyes blazed. "And now, that Ranger's sister is moving to New Kalakan!" 

Divatox threw her hands up in frustration. "Oh, great! Do you know what the _defenses_ are like around that place!" New Kalakan was becoming famous in the universe for being almost as tough a nut to crack as Earth itself. 

"Then we stop her," Goldar said shortly. Divatox raised one eyebrow, and he grinned wickedly, knowing already what to do. "When they get ready to go, first you draw the fighting Rangers away with a monster, then I'll take what I want!" 

Divatox chuckled, already liking this plan. "And this time, there is nothing anyone can do to stop us! Not even the Rangers!" 

* * *

Everyone was gathered in the Cranstons' backyard as Azure, Adam, and their kids prepared to leave the planet of their birth. Aura's natural mother Shaya had come with her spacecraft to carry them there, not wanting to use the Power Chamber's teleportational system for such a use. 

"I'm going to miss _everything!"_ Adam declared, as Azure looked at him. His wife nodded, her eyes sparkling with her own tears as she went to hug her sister. 

"I'll miss you!" 

Aura hugged her sister with all the strength in her arms, staring deep into her eyes. "I love you, Azure," she whispered. She knew this was for their own good, but still it hurt to think she was almost literally sending her sister away forever. 

"I love you, too." 

Aura glanced at her mother, and a faint smile shone through the tears of farewell. "You keep an eye on her, mother!" 

"I will," Shaya nodded. "They'll be back when next I visit, and they are living right next door to me." 

The Amber Ranger glanced at the others, and couldn't hold back her tears any more. Over the last several years they had all become a far tighter family than any she'd ever imagined possible, and to be without them was an agony she didn't want to think about. "I'm going to miss you all so much!" 

"Same with you!" Adam gasped out through his own trickling tears. Justin looked at the older man who he owed a lot already. 

"Guess this means you don't want your powers back, right?" he asked almost nervously. 

Adam smiled, hugging the young warrior. "They're in good hands, Justin. The best." 

"So this is it," Azure whispered as she hugged each of them, and agreed to Jason's insistence that she write them. ..or something! "I'll see what I can do!" she promised. 

Aura smiled weakly. "You guys are going to be safe, at last. We should have thought of this years ago." 

"We couldn't," Azure shook her head. "Adam was still a Ranger." 

The named young man nodded. "Well, now we can go." 

The farewells were interrupted by the sudden beeping of Tommy's communicator. The Red Ranger groaned darkly and touched it. "This is Tommy. What is Divatox doing to ruin our good-byes?" 

THERE IS A MONSTER RAVAGING DOWNTOWN ANGEL GROVE, Zordon's voice came over it. Everyone groaned; this was the last thing they needed! 

"Come on," Aura sighed. "Let's go to work." 

Billy snapped sharply, "No! Aura, you're staying here!" 

"Why?" her eyes widened; surely they didn't still think that she couldn't fight! She was perfectly fine after Goldar's assault, she'd been in fighting condition in much shorter time periods after such things! 

"The other day comes to mind," Tommy said dryly, and Aura almost flinched, they _did_ think that she wasn't ready. She tried to protest she was all right, but Tommy cut her off. "That's nice. You're still staying." 

She sighed. "All right. Go kick that monster's butt for me!" Tommy had never pulled rank on her as the team's leader before, but she guessed there was a first time for everything. As the others teleported away, Azure followed them with her eyes. 

"That is one thing I _won't_ miss!" 

"I wish I could go with them," Aura was also tracking the rest of the team by eye. Azure chuckled, waving briefly to Adam and Shaya as they headed inside the ship to finish packing. 

"I don't think I'll ever understand Rangers." 

Aura shrugged a little, trying to see if she could see the others fighting the monster from her vantage point. "It's in my genetics, I guess." she heard a sudden yelp from behind her and frowned. "What is it, Azure?" 

"Goldar." 

Aura whirled quickly, growling. "Goldar, can't you _ever_ leave us alone!?" 

He laughed, slapping her hand away from her morpher even as she tried to reach for it. "You two are coming with us!" he grinned wickedly as a half dozen Pirantrons showed up. 

Aura snorted. Morphed, unmorphed, it didn't matter, she was not going to let them take her sister! "Yeah, right!" she kicked hard at one Piranatrons, then another, then growled out something vile as Goldar seized her and a Piranatron seized Azure. "Hey! Let her go!" 

"Sorry," Goldar didn't seem very sorry. "But she can't be permitted to leave!" 

"Hey!" they all looked up to see Adam standing in the doorway of the ship. "Let them go!" 

Aura was doing all she could to kick Goldar where she tended to, and looked quickly at Adam. "Get the others!" she ordered. Adam nodded quickly as they vanished, and his fists clenched. 

"I'll get you to safety yet, Azure Park!" 

* * *

Goldar was beginning to regret this kidnapping. It just wasn't going the way these things always had. Azure wasn't cowering in a corner terrified, and Aura hadn't stopped hitting him in every possible area, her hands reaching for his throat. He knew if her hands closed on him, he would be done for. 

Azure pulled her sister away, her own eyes burning with something beyond fury. "Let me have a crack at him," she said. Aura grinned at her, and stepped back. 

"Be my guest!" 

Azure clenched her fists together, then punched Goldar quickly in the guts, the chest, and finished him off with a powerful hit to the head. Aura applauded, proud of her. _ Those lessons I gave her are paying off._ "Very nice, Azure!" 

"I've had it with you, Goldar!" Azure growled. "You have ruined my life for the _last_ time!" she delivered a kick that did Aura credit, and both women smiled to hear the high-pitched scream he let out. Azure glanced to her sister. "Any chance we can just teleport out of here?" 

* * *

Adam was pacing and Billy was scanning the various areas where they expected the two to be. The others had quickly finished off the monster, only to find out the Amber Ranger and sister had been taken again. Everyone had converged on the Power Chamber to start the search. Adam glanced over at Shaya, half-smiling ruefully. 

"Not quite what I expected our last day on Earth to be like." 

Aura's mother smiled . "I have faith in Aura and Azure both, that they will emerge without harm. Indeed, I fear Goldar will regret this day for a long time to come!" 

"Yeah," Adam nodded. "Aura probably kicked him in her favorite place for kicking the bad guys!" 

Tommy chuckled briefly. "I wonder where she picked that habit up at?" 

"Not from me," the sorceress of New Kalakan declined. _Knowing her, it probably runs on her father's side of the family!_

Rocky looked up at the Phantom Ranger. "Any luck yet, Billy?" 

When he shook his head, Tommy groaned mentally and out loud. "We'd better get them back before Divatox thinks up anything new to do to them." 

"Why would Goldar want to stop Azure from going to New Kalakan?" Adam wondered. Tommy shrugged, then everyone jumped when a new voice spoke. 

"Goldar is an idiot to have taken them," the Spirit of the Earth said firmly. She and Shaya exchanged a meaningful glance as Tommy agreed with her assessment. "We must return them to safety." 

"How?" Adam wanted to know, his fingernails digging bloody holes in his hands. 

"I can find them," the Spirit said quietly. "And will do my best to return them, but time is of the essence." 

Adam quietly nodded. "Please do. And please hurry." 

"I go to them!" the Spirit vanished, and those left behind could only hope she was in time. 

* * *

Aura paced briefly, her eyes never leaving Goldar as he lay sprawled on the floor. Azure was every bit as nervous as she was, as the two of them waited for some way to get home. Aura had tried her communicator, only to discover it didn't work in where ever they were. Suddenly, a jump in her soul happened that she knew could only mean one thing. 

"Spirit!" she smiled, running over to where the Spirit of Earth was standing suddenly. Her guardian and guide smiled. 

"It's time for you two to leave!" she'd been able to track them down due to the link between the two of them, and she had known Azure would be with Aura. She looked over at the younger girl, who smiled. "You have a flight to catch!" 

Goldar surged up to his feet as the two of them stopped watching him so intently. "You're not taking them!" 

Aura's eyes burnt brightly. "Oh, shut up!" she hissed, kicking him with all her strength in the sensitive male areas. As he crumpled in pain, Azure kicked him just as hard in his head. "And stay down this time!" 

* * *

Adam laughed and hugged Azure as she ran straight into his arms after materializing with Aura and the Spirit. "He didn't hurt you, did he?" he asked quickly. 

Azure shook her head, laughing. "Other way around this time!" 

To the wide-eyed admiration of the others, Aura described how they'd beaten the crap out of Goldar for once, instead of having him do it to them. Tommy couldn't believe his ears. 

"Man, are you sure you want this move after you did that?" he had to ask! Azure and Adam both nodded. 

"Yes. For the children," he said quietly. They all knew it was really just a matter of time before their enemies tried to harm their young offspring as well. 

Azure nodded. "Adam and I can't always be there to protect them. One day, we will come back," maybe, she added mentally. Something she couldn't identify was calling her relentlessly to New Kalakan. 

"Are you ready to go?" Adam asked softly, taking her hand. She glanced around, soaking in everything and everyone around her in the Command Center. In a way, this was a second home to them all. They had been through so much here... 

"As ready as I'll ever be," she sighed, starting to give out final hugs good-bye. 

Adam nodded. "Then let's do it. Before anyone else tries to interrupt us!" 

Jason took a deep breath, holding out his hand. "For old times sake?" 

One by one, Zack, Trini, Kim, Billy, Tommy, Adam, Rocky, Aisha, Azure, Alpha, Shaya, and Aura piled their hands together, then threw them up with a mighty cry of "Power Rangers!" 

Shayasmiled briefly. "Come," she said, touching Adam and Azure's shoulders. "Time to see your new home." 

"Let's go," Adam nodded, looking at Azure, who bid everyone farewell one last time. Zordon spoke firmly. 

YOU HAVE BEEN A FIERCE WARRIOR, ADAM, AND AZURE, YOU HAVE BEEN A TRUE FRIEND AND HELPER. WE WILL MISS YOU ALL. MAY YOUR NEW HOME BE AS WELCOMING AS THIS ONE WILL ALWAYS BE FOR YOU. FAREWELL. 

And then they were gone. Aura sighed deeply. "I'm going to miss them." 

"We all are," Billy said, holding her. "We all are." 

* * *

Two weeks had passed since the departure of Adam, Azure, and their family for New Kalakan. Aura had went to the doctor a couple of days earlier for nausea, and she had a sneaking suspicion she already knew what was going on. She was humming to herself as she painted in the living room, watching every now and then as Billy played with an extremely happy Alaina. 

She almost jumped when the phone rang, then went over to pick it up. "Hello?" 

"Aura!" Dr. Ashton's voice came over the phone. "How are you today?" 

She smiled faintly. "I was a little sick when I woke up this morning. Other than that, I'm fine." 

"I got your test results back. Get used to being sick." 

Aura chuckled. "Don't tell me. Let me guess. Another one?" 

"Mommy's pregnant!" Alaina's high voice came from behind her. The doctor chuckled, he was used to Alaina's intuition. 

"Very perceptive girl. Yes, you are, Aura. Congratulations, again. By the way, have you heard from your sister?" 

Aura shook her head. "No, not since she moved." only the very close friends knew just where Azure had actually moved to. 

"Well, we all miss her here. Tell her that we say hello next time you talk to her." 

"All right," the young Ranger nodded. "Thanks for the good news!" 

"Okay. You know the drill about the appointments." 

Aura couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah. You know I have a feeling I'm going to be having a _lot_ of those. Having many children runs in my family." 

"You're keeping me in business!" Dr. Aston giggled a little himself. "I have to go, someone just beeped me. See you at your first appointment!" 

As they hung up, Aura glanced over at Billy, then smiled. "Well. ..," she began. Billy smiled in return. 

"Five down, five to go?" 

Aura laughed, running over to him. "Yeah!" she laughed, hugging and kissing him deeply. "I love you, Billy!" 

"I love you, too! It's about time things started cheering up around here!" ever since Adam and Azure had left, things had been just a little gloomy for them all. 

Alaina smiled widely, and whispered so only her twin heard her. "One vision down, one to go." she looked over to see Alex looking at her confusedly and explained. "I knew Mommy was pregnant again! I saw her and Aunt Azure together, and Mommy was _big_, and in pain!" 

"Why was she in pain?" Alex wondered. The twins were both remarkably tall and mature for their age; a result of the mixture of Earth and Kalakan blood in them. 

"She was having the baby!" Alaina told him. "And Aunt Azure was with her!" 

Alex grinned happily. "Cool! I wanna see Aunt Azure again!" 

His father smiled. "We all do," he looked over at his wife. "Can you wait nine months or so to see your sister again?" 

"All Alaina saw was her there M_then_. It doesn't mean she won't visit before then." 

"Give her a chance to settle in then who knows?" 

Aura smiled as she went to hug everyone in succession, feeling very maternal and caring as she always did when pregnant. "I love you all!" she declared. Alaina giggled a little. 

"Can't wait for the _other_ vision to come true!" 

Her mother raised one eyebrow. "What other vision?" 

"Good vision," Alaina reassured Aura. "But I don't wanna tell anyone what happened in it just yet." 

Aura smiled, ruffling her daughter's hair. "All right. We trust you." 

"I miss her already," Alaina's smile vanished as she thought about her aunt. She loved her so much, and she had seen so much already about what was to come in her life. So much she knew she had to keep secret for now. 

"We all do," Aura whispered, thinking on how much she missed the sister who had been part of her life almost constantly for as long as she could remember. 

Alex looked at his parents. "Why did she have to go?" 

"She was protecting her family." 

The eldest child of the Cranston family wasn't taking that for an answer, though. "I could've helped! I'm gonna be a Power Ranger!" 

Aura laughed just a little bit. "Yes, you are, Alex. But you're not one _yet_. You have to grow up first." 

"Yeah!" Alaina teased. "You can't even win a pillow fight!" 

"I can too!" her brother shot back hotly. 

"You haven't yet!" Alaina retorted, sticking her tongue out. Billy cleared his throat sharply before things got too heated. 

"Hold it!" he declared. "I think we've had to replace your pillows _enough_ in the past two months," he glanced at Aura. "Since it seems you will be seeing Aunt Azure in about what. ..six months left on your pregnancy?" 

Aura nodded. "Something like that." 

"You had better be on your _best_ behavior during that time, and think of some things from here that you'd like her to have as a remembrance of you two." 

Both twins nodded in unison, and Alaina smiled. "Already know what I'm going to give her!" 

"What?" Alex wondered how his twin could think so fast! He was already leaning more towards more physical things, while Alaina was a mental and spiritual person. 

"My stuffed hawk toy!" she declared, and Aura chuckled. That toy was a direct duplicate of her own HawkZord. She'd decided almost as soon as they had left what she was going to do for her distant family. Hearing Alex say he didn't know what he was going to give them, she reassured him they would have time to think it over, then glanced at the painting taking shape on the canvas. 

_Oh, yes, I know what I'm giving them._

* * *

"This isn't happening!" Goldar almost roared. They kept a constant watch on the Rangers these days, looking for anything and everything they might possibly use against their enemies. Nothing had really presented itself until now. 

Divatox growled darkly, "Oh, I think, I'm going to be sick!" 

Rygog shrugged. "At least we've been rid of two of them for the past couple of weeks!" he pointed out. Divatox threw a foul look at him. 

"Yes, but the Amber Ranger is going to have _another_ child!" she pointed out. Nothing nauseated the pirate queen more than the total innocence of a child. 

Goldar thought quickly. "We must stop her from having it!" 

"No fooling," his mistress growled. "Didn't your old boss Zedd try that? All _that_ led to was losing _his_ son!" 

"That brat had it coming!" 

The pirate shrugged and growled. "My point is that just stopping her from having it isn't going to work. That's been done, they expect it. I bet she's probably going to move _into_ the Power Chamber until after she's had it. We need to do something different." 

"Like what?" 

Divatox shrugged. "I'm not sure just yet. But it's got to be _evil_!" 

"Pity you can't make the Rangers think it's someone else's," Elgar said after several moments. Divatox whirled at her nephew, her eyes wide and startled. 

"Brilliant!" 

"Huh?" Elgar blinked, not knowing what he'd said or done. Divatox groaned mentally, glad once again that he wasn't her offspring. 

"Never mind," she glanced at Goldar, with a nasty smile. "How would you like to make the Amber Ranger think that the child is yours?" 

Goldar raised his bushy eyebrows. "Good plan, but just how do we do it?" 

Divatox rummaged around for a moment in a treasure chest, and pulled out a slender volume. "Just a little something I picked up from Rita that is going to be _very_ useful!" she laughed. "Ready to be a father, Goldar?" 

"Of course!" Goldar knew he was going to _enjoy_ just the sheer mental torment this would inflict on everyone! 

"We need all the Rangers together to cast the spell, to make sure that we get them all." 

Goldar thought for a moment. "Why not when Aura and Billy tell them that she's pregnant? She usually says it once to everyone." 

"Excellent," Divatox nodded. "The spell will make them believe whatever they next hear, completely and utterly! Everything they see and hear that relates to that will only confirm it. The Power Chamber computers could be proclaiming the truth for the next century, and they would see and hear it as saying you are the father. All you have to do is appear after the spell is cast and tell them the `good news'!" 

The muscled evil warrior threw his head back and laughed. This was a plot even _more_ vile than Zedd's worst! "Shall we then?" 

"Indeed we shall!" 

* * *

Zack kissed Aisha deeply, enjoying themselves as they were wont to do even after their honeymoon. Tommy glanced over, then whispered to Kim, "Were we that bad when we were newlyweds?" 

Kim leaned over and kissed him on the lips, her brown eyes dancing. "We still are!" 

"Where are Rocky and Kat?" Billy asked as he held Aura's hand. They had summoned everyone to the Youth Center for their usual method of informing all their friends about the newest upcoming member of the family. They were the only ones there that day, since they'd specially rented it from Ernie for the party to celebrate the newest child to be. 

Jason smiled. "They said they'd be here in a few minutes," he looked over at the youngest Ranger, as Justin grinned and giggled. "What's so funny?" 

"You'll see!" the Green Turbo Ranger grinned widely. Only those who lived in the Cranston house knew what was going to be announced today, and he was one of those, since Aura and Billy had been granted permanent custody of him, until and unless his father return from his travels. 

Everyone looked up as Rocky and Kat entered, without their daughter Kim with them. Billy smiled and waved, and Aura grinned at them. "Glad you could make it!" 

"Kim got sick," Rocky reported, and Kat had to stifle a laugh. "She spit up all over Rocky. My mom is looking after her." 

Aura smiled, expressing her concern for the child, then went on to what they had gathered them for. "Well, Billy and I have news." 

Jason's eyes widened. "Again!?" 

Aura nodded and smiled. "I seem to have forgotten to tell you guys something. I'm going to have at least ten offspring. It's part of being the Amber Ranger." 

"What did you get yourself into?" Jason poked fun at Billy, and Aura raised an eyebrow waiting for his response. 

Billy touched her hand softly. "A very good relationship with someone I love most in this world," he said. Aura smiled as she kissed him, leaning back a little and closing her eyes in thought. 

Through each of them there suddenly passed through them all, and as they looked up in unspoken unison, Goldar's all too familiar voice echoed around them. "That child is mine! I, Goldar, am the father of the next child of the Amber Ranger!" 

Everyone winced as Aura threw her head back and howled in agony, loud enough to shatter glass. She couldn't understand why, but for some reason, she _knew_ it was the truth, knew it as she knew her own name. 

Billy turned to look at his wife, then got up and stormed out, his eyes full of something unnamable and strange. Aura stared after him for a moment, then ran out the other way, tears flowing down her cheeks. 

Everyone else stared after one or the other of them. Tommy took a deep breath. "Please tell me I did _not_ hear that." 

"You did." 

The Red Ranger flinched at Rocky's words. "I wish I hadn't." 

Kat nodded. "We all do," she took a deep breath. "I'm glad Azure wasn't here to hear this." 

Kim agreed with her. "Definitely. This is the last thing that should have ever happened." 

"Wonder what the kid is going to look like," Justin wondered, then flinched himself at the shudder that passed through all of them. 

Aisha put a hand on the young man's shoulder and looked into his eyes. "Justin, I know you didn't mean it like that, but I do want to sleep tonight!" 

* * *

Aura tried not to think very much as she walked through the woods in tears. The strangeness in Billy's eyes as he had looked at her had cut her to the core, and the only thing she could think of was that she wanted to die, more than she wanted anything. _It all changed so fast. . .one moment I'm happy as a clam because I'm pregnant. The next, I'm carrying the child of my mortal enemy._

"Hello, darling!" a mocking voice called. She looked up, startled, to see Goldar standing not far from her. Her eyes narrowed with pure hate. 

"Get away from me!" she commanded. Goldar stepped closer to her, almost touching her. 

"Is that any way to talk to the father of your child?" 

Aura's eyes blazed. "When it's you, _yes_!" 

"Funny," Goldar taunted. "That's not what you said the night it was conceived!" 

Through tear-reddened eyes she glared at him. "If you ever come near me again, my ax is _finally_ going to cut you in half!" 

Goldar smiled coldly, waving his sword. A team of Piranatrons, each carrying a long, thick cord of rope, appeared. "Tie her to the tree!" he ordered. He had planned this out, and he was going to enjoy it. Greatly. 

"You're going to have to catch me first!" Aura growled, preparing to fight. Goldar was ready for her, though, and she wasn't at her best anyway, after almost a solid hour of tearful running. He caught by the shoulder and literally slammed her into a tree. Aura tried to kick him, but he just laughed as he backhanded her harshly across the face and the Piranatrons tied her tightly to the tree. She glared at him, her lip bleeding a little. "The others will find me, Goldar!" she reminded him. "You know that as well as I do!" 

Goldar raised his blade, pointing it directly at her heart. "But they will find you dead!" 

"Go ahead!" she hissed proudly. "Anything is better than having your little monster inside of me!" 

He grinned, drawing his sword back. "So be it!" this was even _better_ than letting her live thinking her offspring was his! Death and revenge. ..at last! 

Aura faced him bravely, despite the danger. A single thought pulsed in her mind. _I wish I had some help. Someone. Anyone. Preferably Billy, but I'm not picky!_

Goldar was drawing his blade back, preparing for the final strike, when someone knocked it out of his hand. He and Aura both looked up to see a female Ranger standing there, in gleaming gold and black armor. "Not today, Goldar!" the voice wasn't one that either of them recognized, but Aura wasn't going to complain. 

"Who are you?" she asked breathlessly. 

"I am a friend, and that is all that I can say for now," she turned her attention back to Goldar. "You have harmed her enough! Begone, you vile creature!" 

Goldar stared, not understanding what was going on one little bit. "Who are you? _What_ are you?" 

The other raised one powerful fist. "I am the Gold Ranger. ..and your worst nightmare!" with a strong kick, she almost kicked through Goldar's armor. 

Goldar stared for a moment. "Yeah, right," he grunted finally, then glared at Aura. "I will see you again!" 

The Gold Ranger ripped through the ropes binding Aura and supported her until she could stand on her own. "Are you all right?" she asked. 

"Thank you," Aura said, staring at the stranger. The Gold Ranger nodded quietly, gazing at the person she had just rescued. 

"The child is _not_ Goldar's. It's your husband's," Gold Ranger said firmly. Aura looked at her, frowning. 

"How can you be sure?" she wanted to know. "Wait, how do you even know I'm pregnant? I've just met you!" 

The Gold Ranger smiled under her helmet. "The Spirit of the Earth, and my own guardian, the Spirit of New Kalakan, told me." 

Aura's eyes widened. "Oh. I want it to be Billy's more than anything. But what if it isn't?" 

Gold only shook her head. "Come. We must get all the Rangers to the Power Chamber. This spell must be broken." 

* * *

Tears dropped into the pool Billy was sitting beside, not sure just what he should be thinking or feeling right now. A vast emptiness filled his very soul as he gazed into the deep waters. "This isn't possible." 

"Hello there, Phantom Ranger," the voice came from behind him and he turned to see Divatox standing behind him. His eyes narrowed. 

"Go to hell," he glared at her. Divatox only smiled and came closer to him. 

"How does it feel knowing that your wife is going to have Goldar's child?" she asked, purring wickedly. 

Billy moved back, his eyes furious. It was suddenly crystal clear what he had to do. "Get away from me!" 

"You really ought to leave her," Divatox leaned forward, running a hand across his neck. Billy pulled back even more, jerking as far from her as he could. 

"Never!" 

Divatox smiled so evilly it hurt. "You know, I think Aura rather enjoyed what Goldar did to her. She'll probably go to him," she left out the fact Goldar was probably going to be killing Aura before too soon. "Leaving you free for me." 

"I'd rather die than go to you," Billy hissed. Divatox growled harshly back at him. 

"That can be arranged!" she raised her arm to strike at him, only to have him teleport away quickly. She growled the most vile oath she knew, then returned to the Subcraft. At least Goldar would have dispatch the Amber Ranger by then! 

* * *

In the Power Chamber, the Gold Ranger sat on the examining table, the only empty place, watching the Earth Rangers and former Rangers as they stood in various positions, all watching her intently. She was playing with a glittering ruby in one hand, and waiting patiently. 

"Divatox makes me sick!" Billy declared the moment he appeared in the Power Chamber, not yet noticing the Gold Ranger. Rocky looked over at his friend. 

"What did she do?" 

Billy's eyes burned . "She. ..made me an offer I would have rather died than accept." 

His eyes widened suddenly when he looked up to see the strange Ranger there. Gold looked in return. "It is time to undo what Divatox and Goldar have done," she extended one hand, and the ruby glittered at them all. "Aura Cranston, this is the Ruby of Reality, the last magical jewel to survive the destruction of Kalakan. I received this from Shaya to correct this situation. The Spirit of Earth has told me of the lie that was planted in your heads as to the father of the child," she glanced briefly at Billy. "You are indeed it's father," she reassured him, then looked back at Aura. "Take this gem, and repeat the word `truth' in your mind." 

The ruby was warm in Aura's hand as she touched it, and as the word swept her mind, a brilliant light flashed throughout the room. All of them felt suddenly cleaner mentally, and as the light faded, Gold Ranger looked at Aura. "Who is the father of your child?" 

Aura sighed deeply and happily. "The only person who ever will be the father of _any_ of my children!" she kissed Billy tenderly and deeply, wrapping her arms around him. 

Gold Ranger smiled, pulling a pouch off her belt. "One more thing, Amber Ranger?" 

"What's that?" 

"You asked me who I was. I am the Gold Ranger, the sworn defender of New Kalakan and bearer of a message from your sister." 

She held the pouch out to Aura, who took it with thanks. "I must return to New Kalakan now," their new friend told them. "Is there a message you wish me to deliver to the Parks?" 

Aura nodded quickly. "Tell my sister I love her and miss her, and since you already know, that I'm going to have another kid." 

"I will," Gold Ranger smiled under her helmet, then teleported away in a streak of black and gold. Aura sighed for a moment, then glanced down at the pouch she'd been given. 

"So what does Azure have to say?" Rocky asked after a few silent moments. Aura glanced inside the pouch to see a crystal within it. Frowning, she pulled it out and held it flat in her hand, not quite understand what was going on here. 

Everyone yelped a little when the crystal glowed for a moment, then miniature versions of Adam and Azure were floating a few inches off the crystal. Azure smiled at them. "Hello, Rangers! Hi, Aura!" 

"Oh, cool!" Aura's eyes danced at this, realizing it was a projection, like the message her parents had left her in her necklace. "Hi, Azure!" 

The recording sighed for a moment. `There is so much I want to tell you all, but first, the good news! Adam and I have decided to renew our vows here on Kalakan, and we're inviting all of you to come to the ceremony," she chuckled briefly. "I take it you've already met the Gold Ranger, otherwise you wouldn't be seeing this message." 

Aura chuckled a little. "Yeah, we've met her!" she wasn't going to tell just how she had met the Gold Ranger, and had requested that the Gold Ranger didn't tell either. It was so embarrassing for her to be captured! 

Adam spoke up. "Aura, Shaya asked us to tell you that she said hello, and sends her love to you." 

Azure nodded, and continued, "Our time runs out now, we have to finish getting settled in. Tell mom and dad we love them and miss them." 

"We miss you too," Aura said softly as they bid farewell and their images faded away. "And we can't wait to see you again!" 

"We will," Billy touched her shoulder. "At their wedding." 

Aura nodded, smiling as she looked over at the others. "The Gold Ranger. Was I as confusing to you guys when I showed up as she is now?" 

Billy grinned. "If not more so. This one at least seems to know who she is!"

**The End**


	51. Slumbering Amber

**Slumbering Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

Billy lay next to Aura, his hand resting lightly in her slightly swelling stomach. He liked to do that, to sense the life that the two of them had brought into the universe together, that hadn't existed until they had chosen to want it. "I wonder what we'll have this time. .." he mused. 

Aura smiled. "Maybe both again!" she did almost flinch a trifle at that. Giving birth to twins was _not_ her favored method of either exercise or time off from the team. 

"I love you, Aura Cranston!" Billy told her as he kissed her cheek. "And nothing is ever going to stop me from loving you! Aura chuckled; he always gotten more demonstrative about his love whenever she was pregnant. 

"I love you more than I love my own life, Billy," she told him softly, kissing him on the lips. "Because without you in it, my life would be meaningless. . .or worse." 

Billy smiled as he kissed her neck, then groaned at the sudden crying of their youngest. "Do we _never_ get a moment of peace?" 

"With four kids, you expect peace?" she asked, grinning at him. Billy shrugged. 

"Maybe about two minutes of it?" 

Aura sighed as she watched Billy go, then closed her eyes for a moment. _How will I go on without him? I'm going to outlive him by over eighty years, if not more. I can't imagine going eighty seconds without him. _

Her thoughts were interrupted by a small bundle of energy leaping on top of the bed. "Hi!" a cheery voice called out. Aura smiled, opening her eyes to see Alaina staring at her. 

"Hey, Alaina," she smiled at her daughter. 

"Is it true?" the eldest girl asked her mother. 

Aura tilted one eyebrow. "Is what true?" 

"That we're going to go see Aunt Azure at the end of the week?" at Aura's nod, Alaina howled out with joy; there were few things that she liked better than to see her family! 

"You're going to be seeing your Grandma Shaya and Uncle Samuel, too," Aura reminded her. Alaina's smile broadened. 

"Reunion?" 

"Pretty much," Aura leaned back against the pillows, her arms going around Alaina and sighing softly. As half-breed Kalakan, they would have a slightly longer lifespan than a human, but nothing as long as one of her people would have. _ I aged like a human until I got through puberty. After that. ..I haven't aged a day. I still looked seventeen. And I'm going to until I'm at least forty or so. Oh, Billy..._

Alaina smiled as she put a hand on Aura's stomach, then her smile broadened. "A sister!" she declared. Aura glanced at her for confirmation, and Alaina nodded brightly. 

"You definitely take after your grandmother!" Aura declared, remembering how her mother had always seemed to know things just before they happened on their trip back to Earth, and during those nine months she had spent in the past. _This trait runs true, I see._

"Maybe she can teach me some stuff while we're there!" 

Aura shrugged. "Maybe," she glanced through half-lidded eyes at her daughter. "Did I ever tell you who I named you after, Alaina?" when her daughter shook her head, Aura continued, "Would you like to know?" a nod this time, and Aura smiled. "You're named after me." 

"How?" Alaina looked confused. "You're Aura, not Alaina." 

Aura stretched back, her thoughts having returned to ancient Kalakan with the mention of her mother. "They are both my names. Alaina is the name your grandmother gave me when I was born. Aura is what I was called when I came to Earth. I grew up being called that, so Aura is what I'm most comfortable with." 

"Ah!" Alaina loved hearing about her mother's past, and Aura never tired of telling. The Amber Ranger smiled as Alaina was suddenly lifted off her by strong arms, and hugged by her father. 

"Hi, Daddy!" the little girl grinned as she reached around to hug her father's neck. 

"How's William doing?" Aura wondered. 

"He's fine. He just wanted his pacifier back," Billy told her. Aura smiled, getting up to hug both her husband and daughter. They were going to go visit her sister soon, no one had heard anything from Goldar and Divatox since their last little escapade, and everyone's life was settling down into what looked like total bliss. As far as everyone could tell, things looked completely blissful. The Rangers were even looking into replacements once again, wanting to do it during a lull in attacks if they could. The freshness of the new Rangers would certainly through the forces of evil off-track, if nothing else. 

Aura kissed Billy gently on the shell of his ear. "I have the most _wonderful_ family in the world!" she declared. _And I can't wait for it to all be back together again!_

"That we do!" Billy agreed. "That we do!" 

* * *

Elsewhere, things weren't quite in such a state of domestic bliss. Goldar dodged quickly from the heavy golden cups Divatox was in the habit of throwing whenever she got angry, and she was very angry right now. "What is it going to take for you to get rid of a Ranger?! They're worse than cockroaches!" 

"If that Gold Ranger hadn't shown up, I would have finished the Amber one!" Goldar hissed. Divatox's eyes flared red. 

"Gold Ranger. ..," she muttered. "Just when we had a slim chance to get rid of the Amber one, _this_ one shows up!" her chair creaked as she threw herself back down into it. Pouting softly, she started to play with her eel, wishing she had more troops as loyal as her pet here was. The sudden silence from the other side of the bridge caused her to look up. "You've got something on your mind, don't you?" she asked. She recognized that look on Goldar's face. 

"A plan to get rid of the Amber brat," he said slowly. "A very _evil_ plan," he practically purred the words out. At her insistence, he began to outline what he was thinking about, and by the end of his statement, Divatox was giggling in fiery piratical glee. Then she had an idea of her own. 

With a quick twist of her hand, she jerked a spellbook out of thin air and turned to a page. "And I have an idea that will help us to capture her. And even if they rescue her from your trap. ..there's no way they can rescue her from mine!" she showed Goldar the spell she was looking at, and both echoed with evil laughter. "Shall we invite the Amber Ranger to our little party?" she chuckled. 

"After we block their sensors," Goldar reminded her. "The last thing we want is all of them wandering around here!" 

Divatox nodded. "And it will finally be the end of the Amber Ranger. ..one way or the other!" 

* * *

Billy kissed Aura on the neck, glad that Alaina had went back to her own room. "Let's hope the kids don't come in," he purred in her ear. Aura giggled. 

"I locked the door," she told him, grinning. Billy grinned as he put her on the bed and started kissing with more passion behind it. 

"Then let's hope Divatox and Goldar take the day off!" she declared, running his hands to those areas that were the most absolute _sensitive_ of her body. 

They were _just_ starting to get into the most enjoyable aspects of their activity, when a harshly familiar voice growled, "That is _disgusting!"_

Aura sat up, pushing Billy away from her for a moment. "You can't even leave us alone for _five minutes_ can you?" she hissed at Goldar. The evil warrior chuckled. 

"Nope! Time to sleep, Amber Ranger!" with a twist of his arm, he tossed a fistful of dust into her face, and grinned. The last time he had used that, Kim had quite literally fallen into his arms. 

"What the. ...," Aura proved to be just as vulnerable to it as her Pink counterpart, collapsing into a little heap at his feet. Goldar chuckled, then knocked Billy into a wall as the Phantom Ranger charged at him. 

"You have no say in this matter!" he told the young man. Billy shook his head, trying to clear his suddenly frozen mind as Goldar picked up Aura and tossed her easily over one shoulder, then dropped a note on the bed. 

"See you. .._never_, Phantom Ranger!" he declared, then vanished. Billy slowly got to his feet, tears dropping down his cheeks at the thought of what Goldar and Divatox might do to her. Almost as an afterthought, he picked up the note and read it. Slowly, he paled. 

"You're not going to get away with this," he muttered, then headed for the Power Chamber. This captivity wasn't going to last long at all. 

* * *

The Rangers watched as Billy and Justin made the final adjustments to the scanners, getting rid of the interference that had prevented them from knowing Aura was in danger. "Did that work, Alpha?" Justin asked the robot. 

"Ay-yi-yi, they're working again, but I still can't find her!" Alpha buzzed around the Power Chamber, trying to find the Amber Ranger. Billy paced a little, trying to think of something to do. 

"We might as well contact the Gold Ranger," Rocky sighed. Billy glared at his friend. 

"How? She just appeared last time! We don't know how to get in touch with her!" 

Tommy shrugged. "Didn't she say that she was the sworn defender of New Kalakan?" 

"Right," relief flooded Billy. "I'll get in touch with Shaya, maybe she can find the Gold Ranger." 

It didn't take long for the transmission to go through, and Aura's mother appeared on the screen, with Adam and Azure in the background. "Rangers?" she asked, a frown touching her eyes. 

"Shaya, we've got trouble," Billy's voice was terse and business-like. "Can you get in touch with the Gold Ranger?" 

The sorceress glanced back over her shoulder, nodding briefly. Both Adam and Azure left, and Shaya looked at her son-in-law. "What is wrong, Billy?" 

"Goldar and Divatox have kidnapped Aura. They want me and the Gold Ranger to surrender, or they're going to kill her." 

Shaya nodded. "I will inform the Gold Ranger," she said quietly. Billy could see the fury smoldering in her eyes; Aura came by her temper on _both_ sides of her family. 

"Thanks, Shaya. We'll get Aura back," he tried to reassure her. The sorceress of New Kalakan nodded. 

"I know you will." 

Billy grinned half-wickedly. "And if they've hurt so much as a hair on her head, they're going to wish that Zedd had gotten a hold of them before I did.' 

"I'm certain you will. I must go tell her," Shaya looked a little nervous. "Until I see you again." 

As the communication broke, Billy leaned back against a console, trying not to think of all the varied things his vivid imagination could provide for them to be doing to her. He forced the thoughts out of his mind, trying to focus on finding her, as a flicker of light filled the room suddenly. 

"What has happened to the Amber Ranger?" the Gold Ranger asked, her voice thick and gruff with anger. Billy handed her the note, and quietly recounted how Goldar had abducted his wife. 

"We only have a little while to decide. That's how long we have to rescue her." 

The Ranger nodded, turning to Alpha. "Have you had any luck finding her on your sensors?" 

"No, we can't find her anywhere!" Alpha replied. The Ranger growled something low and viscious, then all of them settled down to finding out what was going on here and how they could release their companion. 

* * *

That companion was doing credit to all her language teachers, as she treated her captors to a lesson in foul language they would never regret. Elgar was busily taking notes on it as she wound up with a, "You're going to regret this, Goldar!" 

"How?" the space monkey laughed. "The Rangers can't find you, and we'll have what we want because of that!" 

Aura snorted. "What? A real personality?" her cheek stung a moment later as he slapped her. 

"No. The Gold and Phantom Rangers," he growled, glaring at her where she hung on the wall in chains. Divatox had installed a special set just for her, emblazoned with Divatox's symbol. 

Aura spat coldly at him. "They'll never surrender to you!" 

"I think they will," it was Divatox who spoke now. "Once they realize they won't be able to wake you up without my help. ..or save you from the pit of snakes that you're about to be hung over!" 

Aura took a deep breath. She wasn't as afraid of snakes as she once had been, but they did still make her a trifle nervous. "I've seen the world's _biggest_ snake. After that, the little worms you guys have are nothing!" 

"You've heard of the Serpent of Darkness, haven't you?" the pirate asked. Aura shrugged. 

"Yeah. Relative of yours, isn't it?" 

Ignoring the insult, Divatox continued. "You are going to be having over a pit with eleven poisonous snakes, and one serpent of Darkness. You won't even be able to try to escape, since you'll be under a sleeping spell. ..that only I can break." 

"Oh, good!" Aura actually managed to interject a note of joy in her voice. "That means I don't have to look at either of you ever again! Not having to see your ugly faces makes that sound pretty good!" 

The evil queen wasn't finished yet, however. "But if the serpent of darkness bites you before one of the others does. . .then I _will_ awaken you: to be our slave for all time." 

Aura took an extremely deep breath, then proceeded to inform both Divatox and Goldar _exactly_ what she thought of them, and not a single word she uttered was polite. It didn't take long for them to grow tired of it, and with a quick word, Divatox cast the spell. Aura broke off in mid-curse, her head dropping to her chest in a deep and profound slumber. 

"At least she's quiet now," Divatox shrugged. Then something occurred to her. "Goldar, do you know why she freaks so much every time we try to turn her evil?" 

"Zedd kept trying to do it," Goldar shrugged, gathering up the ropes and chains he needed up. 

Divatox chuckled. "He never could get anything right." 

"Oh, he turned her evil all right," Goldar disagreed. "but that stupid sister of hers always kept getting her back to the good side! Her or that husband of hers." 

"What is it with those two?" the queen pouted suddenly. "You can't move one without seeing the other there?" 

Goldar shrugged as he hauled the deeply asleep Aura over the pit of snakes. "Who knows?" 

His current employer watched as he fastened everything right. "Even if the Rangers get her out before _any_ of the snakes bite her. ..she'll sleep forever!" 

"Shall we let them know where their precious Amber Ranger is?" Goldar chuckled. Divatox grinned, going to the communications array. 

"Oh, yes. So they'll know they have no choice but to surrender! But _not_ what will happen either way!!" 

* * *

The Gold Ranger paced as Alpha, Billy, and Justin worked feverishly on searching for Aura. Suddenly, something beeped, and Billy looked up. "Incoming transmission," his voice filled with hate as he saw who it was from. 

"From Divatox?" the mystery Ranger asked. Billy nodded. 

"Coming up on the Viewing Globe now," he pointed over to it, and everyone turned as Goldar's voice came over the slowly clearing picture. 

"Attention Gold and Phantom Rangers," he hissed. "You have one hour to surrender, or else this one," the image cleared, and they saw Aura hanging bonelessly over a deep pit filled with hissing serpents. "Gets fed to the snakes!" 

Billy clenched his fists. "Let her go, Goldar!" 

"Not until you surrender!" he declared, then vanished off the screen, taking the image of Aura with him. Billy stared for a moment, whispering softly under his breath, "Aura. .." 

Gold Ranger chuckled. "Found her." 

"Where is she?" Billy whirled, his eyes flashing harshly. "Where is my wife?" 

"Here," the Gold Ranger showed him the co ordinates, and Billy almost laughed. It was the _exact_ same place that had been used the _last_ time Divatox and Goldar had taken Aura!! 

"Let's go. I'm not going to let those snakes _touch_ her!" 

The Gold Ranger nodded. "Then let us go," both of them vanished in dual streams of light. Divatox and Goldar had _no_ idea what they were in for. 

* * *

Divatox licked her lips at the sight of Aura slowly being lowered into the pit filled with squirming vipers, cobras, and one hissing Serpent of Darkness. "I do so hope that the Serpent of Darkness bites her first. I'd _love_ to have the Amber Ranger under my control for all time!" 

"We almost had three of the Rangers bitten by this thing's parent once," Goldar remember, smirking at the thought of Rocky, Adam, and Aisha quivering away from the snake. 

Divatox remembered some of his tales. "They were rescued in time," she reminded her companion. "But this one won't be!" 

"And if she is, they will never be able to wake her!" 

"She'll either die, serve us, or sleep for all time!" Divatox liked this! No matter what, they would win! For once, they had actually _won_ against the Rangers! It was a good day. 

A strong, harsh voice cracked from behind them. "I don't think so!" 

The two villains whirled to see the Gold Ranger standing behind them, helmet tilted slightly to the side. "Gold Ranger!" Divatox gloated. "Come to surrender?" 

"You have _got_ to be joking!" their enemy laughed. "I came for the view, actually." 

Divatox frowned behind her mask. "View? The only view you're getting is that of the Amber Ranger's end!" 

"Somehow, I don't think so!" Gold Ranger did a magnificent jump kick, smashing the heel of her boot against Divatox's chin and almost driving it through the back of her skull. Divatox fell back, just barely managing to scramble to her feet. She turned briefly to see Billy hauling Aura away from the snakes and teleporting away in a mixed gold and black light. This wasn't worth it! 

"You think you've rescued her. ..," she hissed. "Think again!" with a puff of light, she vanished from the chamber, leaving Goldar behind to take the heat. 

The monster growled, pulling out his sword. "You're going to pay for interrupting my fun the other day, Gold Ranger!" 

A golden staff appeared in the female Ranger's hand. "Have you ever danced with the devil?" was all she asked. "Because soon you're going to be living with him!" 

"Shut up and fight," Goldar hissed. For long moments the two of them clashed back and forth, neither really getting an advantage on the other. But the Gold Ranger had something up her sleeve, and she knew it was time to pull it out. 

Beneath her helmet, she smiled. "This has gone far enough. You have been warned before what would happen if you did this again," she held up her staff. "By the powers of New Kalakan, I summon the Lightning Staff!" 

Lightning sparkled all around the tip of the weapon, and she turned to look at him. "Ready to die, Goldar?" 

"You expect that toothpick to kill me?" he laughed. He was Goldar, mightiest monster of the universe! He could not be killed by _anything_. 

The Gold Ranger brought the staff down as swift as lighting, and watched with venomous satisfaction as it sliced through his armor and deeply into his bone. "You were saying?" 

Goldar collapsed, yellow blood coating her staff and running onto the floor. "W. .who are you. .Gold Ranger?" 

"An old friend," she said quietly, removing her helmet gently and staring at him. "Time to die, Goldar!" 

The last word he uttered before she brought her staff down on his head was a simple. .. "no...." Then he knew nothing more. 

The Gold Ranger felt no joy at this. She had warned him. He hadn't listened. Softly she whispered, "It didn't make me happy to do this. But sometimes you have to do the things that make you unhappy. ..because they're the things you must do. .." 

Silently, she put her helmet back on, and teleported back to the Power Chamber. There, she found the Rangers gathered around Aura, who lay on a medical bed silently, her eyes closed. "How is she?" at the sight of Billy's tear-streaked face, she hurried over. "What is wrong, Phantom Ranger?" 

"She won't wake up," Billy said softly. "We've tried everything, and she just won't wake up!" 

_This isn't happening. She's needed. ..wait! _The Gold Ranger glanced at them. "Have you tried your daughter?" 

"Not yet," Billy shook his head, then looked at the stranger. "How do you know about Alaina's gifts?" 

"One day, all will be explained," she promised. Billy glanced at her for a moment, then vanished, reappearing with Alaina there. 

The little girl looked around, smiling at the sight of the Gold Ranger. Then she looked at her mother. "Why mommy sleeping?" 

"We're not sure," Billy sighed. "But do you know how to wake her up?" 

Alaina giggled. "Kiss her!" 

Rocky looked at his friend. "I think you've been reading her too many fairy tales!" 

Before anyone could answer, they could hear evil laughter that was coming from the Viewing Globe. Everyone turned to see Divatox there, grinning coldly at them. "What's the matter, Rangers? Is someone asleep at the wheel?" 

"What did you do to my wife?" Billy hissed, considering teleporting onto Divatox's Subcraft and extracting some fairly personal revenge. _This must be why Rangers should be teenagers. Adults have too many things like this that can be used against them. But I don't regret it. .even now._

Divatox grinned. "She's asleep. And she will stay that way forever!" 

"That's what you think," Gold Ranger replied. "Goldar is asleep forever, but she is not!" 

"Oh, I _do_ have to thank, you for that, Gold Ranger. He was getting on my nerves and he never could do anything right. I was the one who put that spell on the Amber Ranger, and I am the only one who can take it off!" 

Gold Ranger growled, "I did not do it for you. I did it for the Amber Ranger and her family. 

"So?" the pirate retorted. "I'm still here, and she's still asleep, and will be that way for all time!" 

"We shall see." 

The pirate looked at them with sultry eyes under her mask. "Of course, there is _one_ way I will give you the cure.." 

"And what is that?" 

"A very special price," Divatox stated. "The Phantom Ranger!" she wasn't surprised to see Billy looking back at Aura with a disgusted curl to his lip. "You have one hour to make your choice, or your wife will sleep. .._forever!"_

As her image vanished, Billy sighed, leaning over to kiss Aura on the forehead. "If we can't find anything to wake you, I have no choice," he whispered. 

"Kiss her, daddy!" Alaina insisted. Billy looked at her, then back over at Aura. With a shrug, he touched his lips to Aura, kissing with all the love in his soul for her. His eyes went wide as she suddenly began to return the kiss! One arm curled behind his head, pulling him down closer to her for an extremely passionate embrace. 

Alaina looked up to see the Gold Ranger looking at her. "You did good," she was told. The mystery Ranger then raised her voice, clearing her throat. "I do believe there is a wedding that needs to be prepared for?" 

"Are you going to be there?" Rocky asked. The Gold Ranger nodded, seemingly amused. 

"My true identity will be revealed to you all there," she told them. Tommy smiled, holding his hand out for the two to shake. 

"We'll see you there, then." 

The Ranger nodded quietly, glancing over to where Aura and Billy were _still_ locked into a deep kiss. "I must go," she said. "There is much to plan for." 

As she vanished, Rocky glanced over to Aura. "Almost as weird as when _you_ first showed up!" he rolled his eyes at the sight, then pulled Billy off her. "Save it till you're home. .and not in front of your kid!" 

Aura glared at Rocky, with a soft smile to lessen the impact of her harsh, "You spoiled the best kiss I've ever had!" 

"Yeah, but you totally missed the Gold Ranger leaving!" 

"She said we'd see her at the wedding, and that she'd tell us who she is there," Aura grinned. "I was kissing. I'm not _deaf!_" 

Rocky glanced at the others. "I wonder who she is. ..," the 'mystery Ranger' bit was something they really felt they could do without. 

Tommy glanced down at the suddenly giggling Alaina. "Do you know who she is?" he asked the little girl. Alaina giggled again. 

"Maybe." 

Her mother looked at her. "Would you tell us if you did know?" Aura wondered. 

"No," the eldest female of the Cranston-Robinson merging replied quickly, hopping up onto Aura's lap to snuggle with her. Aura smiled, looking at the others as she wrapped her arms around her daughter. 

"Well, we'll find out when we get to New Kalakan," Aura replied. 

Kat nodded, then something occurred to her. "You don't think. ...." 

* * *

Adam paced back and forth, waiting for the Rangers and those family members who were in the know to arrive. Azure was busy right now, and he was getting extremely nervous. The last thing he wanted was for this thing to be interrupted! 

With a crackle, a small collection of rainbow lights drifted down onto the ground, and shaped itself into the people he hadn't seen in too long! "Hey!" he waved immediately, running over to hug Rocky and Aisha first and foremost. 

"Hey, Adam!" Aura grinned. "Where's Azure?" 

"Around here somewhere," her friend shook his head. "She had some last minute things to take care of." 

Aura was practically bouncing as she handed off her smallest offspring to her parents. "can't wait to see her! So, what's been going on around here? Anything interesting?" 

"Not much," he looked over his shoulder at the sound of approaching boots, and nodded at the Gold Ranger. "Settling into our new life." 

Tommy waved at their friend. "Gold Ranger, hello!" 

"Rangers! Greetings!" 

Aura smiled. "Hello! And thanks for getting rid of Goldar for us!" 

The Ranger bowed slightly. "It was my pleasure." 

"You said that you would tell us who you are," Rocky reminded gently. Aura was still looking around. 

"Have you seen my sister anywhere? She'll be glad to know he's been disposed of. I just wish I could have done it myself." 

The Gold Ranger started to remove her helmet, and laughed softly. "Aura, I can fight my own battles now. You can retire as my personal protector." 

Aura's eyes nearly bugged out of her head as for the first time she saw the face of her friend. Her friend. ..and her sister. "A. .Azure? You're the Gold Ranger?" at Azure's nod, Aura ran to hug her. "Oh, Azure...I don't know what to say.. .this is incredible!" 

"Hi, Aunt Azure!" Alaina tackled Azure's legs, hugging her with all the tiny strength in her body. Azure smiled as she returned the embrace. 

"That's kind of how I felt when we got here," she replied, then looked at Alaina. "You knew all along, didn't you?" 

"Yup! But I didn't tell! 

Azure grinned as she demorphed, revealing her second wedding dress, a form fitting tea-length white sundress, with a small slit going to just above her knees in it. "You look good in that outfit! It really . .suits you!" 

As various Rangers groaned at the minor pun, Azure went over to kiss Adam. "He sure seems to think so!" 

"Looks like being a Ranger runs in the family. . .on one side or the other!" Adam kissed back, and Azure smiled, the expression looking much easier and more natural than she had looked in years. 

"I think I'm going to have to start Katia's training as soon as possible," Azure said. "She's going to be my successor one day." 

Aura nodded, her eyes turning to Alex, who was running around now with his sister and cousins. "I need to start Alex's formal training soon, too. He's ready for it!" 

"Honey," Adam turned to Azure at her pet name. "Why don't you show them around. I need to talk to Aura for a moment." 

"Sure," Adam nodded. "Come on, everyone." 

Azure looked at her sister as they were left alone. "There was a special gift that came with these powers, Aura." 

"What's that?" Aura smiled when Azure took her hand and looked into her eyes. 

"Because you are my sister, I will know when you need my help. But you have to ask for it first." 

Aura nodded quietly. "That's how you knew. The first time, when Goldar was about to turn me into a shish kabob," when Azure nodded, she continued. "Thank you. Again," a shudder went through her. "I still haven't told them how close that one was." 

"But you have to ask," Azure reminded her. "And I will know, and vice versa. And I wish you would tell them." 

Aura shook her head. "They don't need to know," never had she willingly told anyone of some of the close calls she'd had. She didn't believe in burdening them with her troubles. 

"You always have been stubborn, haven't you?" 

The last daughter of Kalakan chuckled. "I take after my little sister." 

Her sister shook her head. "How is the little tyke doing?" she asked, glancing momentarily at Aura's stomach. Aura thought for a moment that she saw an odd expression crossing Azure's face, but it was gone so fast, she was certain she had imagined it. 

"Which one? The one I married, the four I've already got running around, or the new guy cooking in here?" she indicated her slightly swollen stomach. Zordon and Alpha had been able to detect that her offspring was unharmed from recent events, for which she and Billy were both grateful. 

"The last." 

Aura shrugged. "Doing very well, as can only be expected." 

Azure took a deep breath, then squeezed her sister's hand. "Thank you, Aura." 

"For what?" 

"Recommending that I move here with my family. Being the best sister that a girl could ever have." 

Aura shook her head. "You're the best sister anyone could ever have!" 

No reply was forthcoming to that; Azure didn't really feel like arguing today of all days. "You know, I need a matron of honor." 

"I'd be honored," Aura smiled. She had missed Azure and Adam's first wedding; there was no way that she would miss the second. A slight frown passed over her when she saw Azure sighing and looking away. "Is something wrong?" 

Azure shook her head. "Not really. I've wanted to get away from the life of the Rangers for so long. . .and now look, I am one." 

"Someone has to be one for New Kalakan," Aura pointed out. I think that the Spirit of this world made the perfect choice." 

"She knew I was coming. .for a long time." 

Aura smiled. "Like the Spirit of Earth knew that I was coming?" 

Azure nodded her agreement. "I think she knew that I was going to be the Gold Ranger." 

"I wouldn't be surprised. I'm beginning to think there's _nothing_ she doesn't know!" 

The Gold Ranger smiled as she fidgeted a little. "I am so nervous," she did what she could to change the subject. "You'd think I was marrying Adam for the first time!" 

"Nothing is going to interfere with this wedding. _Nothing_!" Aura declared. 

"If it does, they'll have one _angry_ Guardian to deal with!" 

Aura smiled briefly. "Or two, if I can talk the Spirit of Earth to coming here!" 

Silence reigned between them for a few moments, then Azure sighed. "I miss earth so much. I look up into the sky every night, and I try to find it." 

"Just like me," Aura told her. "I look for two worlds, though." 

"This and Kalakan?" 

Aura nodded. "Kalakan will always be a part of me, even though it's gone to dust now. Those nine months I spent there were just about the happiest time of my life." 

Both of them turned at feather-light footsteps, and Aura almost at once recognized who could only be the Spirit of New Kalakan. "Azure, it is time for the ceremony." 

"Are you ready to get married. ..again?" Aura asked, grinning. Aura took a deep breath. 

"As ready as I'll ever be. Aura, I'd like you to meet New Kalakan's spirit." 

Aura waved a hello, and the spirit nodded. "So this is the Amber Ranger. Nice to finally meet you in person." 

"Nice to meet you too," Aura felt a stirring in her heart that was the part of her still connected to the ashes of her homeworld, and knew that the Spirit of Kalakan responded to the Spirit of New Kalakan. 

Azure squared her shoulders. "Let's do this." 

* * *

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. ..again," the Spirit of New Kalakan declared. Azure and Adam at once wrapped themselves up in a deep and warm hug. 

"I love you, Azure!" the ex-Ranger declared to his Ranger wife. Azure smiled. 

"I love you, Adam. Unfortunately, tomorrow you have to go back to training me with my martial arts." 

Adam shrugged. "That's okay," he whispered softly in one ear, "Tonight we have other things to do." 

"Ohhhh," Azure giggled. "I have never been this happy. But I think we had better get back to our guests." 

Adam glanced over to see Aura and Billy wrapped up in a warm kiss of their own. "I don't think Aura and Billy will mind if we have a little private time. It looks like that's what they're after." 

Azure grinned. "True, but it's the others I'm more concerned about. Not all of them are looking for private time, and who knows when we'll see them again?" 

"True," Adam agreed, then both of them kissed again, not wanting to be apart for another second. It took Tommy clearing his throat for them to break it apart, and Adam looked at his friend. "What, do you _always_ have to interrupt us?" 

Tommy chuckled. "It's probably the last time I do that." 

"We'll be back to Angel Grove, don't worry," Azure reassured him. Tommy grinned. 

"You had better visit!" 

Adam reminded him of Azure's new status. "She will, if you guys need any help." 

"And when Aura has her baby," Azure said. Adam could almost sense the slight fear, jealousy, and unnamable emotions in her voice. She was somewhat. . .disturbed with Aura having another child, after she had lost her own last one. 

Tommy lifted an eyebrow. "Are you going to have ten kids too?" he wondered. 

Azure chuckled. "Who knows. But I think we're going to wait a little bit before trying again." 

"Yeah, we have time!" Adam reminded them all. Azure nodded quietly. 

"To rest and to heal. ..," she said. Adam kissed her tenderly and gently. 

"But mostly, just to love." 

Rocky giggled as they held one another. "Great, they're gone a week and they're already back to the mushy stuff!" 

"We never _stopped_ the mushy stuff!" Adam corrected. 

"We just put it aside for a little while," an unfamiliar and warm smile touched her lips, and Tommy noticed it. 

"You two do seem happy here." 

Adam nodded. "We are." 

"It's a nice planet," Rocky agreed. "NO crime, pollution, or anything like that." 

Kat nodded. "Truly beautiful." 

"It's okay," Kim shrugged. "But no mall!" 

"You haven't changed, Kim!" Azure laughed, and Kim blushed a little bit. Despite all she had gone through in her life, despite having won the gold medal at the Pan-Globals, she still _loved_ to shop! Azure leaned into Adam. "This is the perfect end to the perfect day." 

Adam put his arms around her. "I love you," he murmured. 

"I love you, Adam." 

Her husband smiled, hugging her tightly and with love. "And I love you and will forever and always." 

"You are nothing but a romantic, Adam, you know that," Azure chuckled, then glanced around at the others. "So how long can you guys stay?" 

Tommy shrugged. "Until Divatox tries something or tomorrow morning, whichever comes first." 

"I hope it's tomorrow morning, then," Azure jumped up. "Come on, let's go have some fun!" 

Rocky giggled, then pointed over to where Aura and Billy were vanishing into the bushes. "I think they're beating us to it!" 

"That they are!" Tommy grinned as they headed back tot he par. But before they got there, Azure jerked Adam behind a tree, pulling him into a deep kiss. She said softly, "I love you, Adam. And I always will." 

Adam smiled. "I love you, too, Azure. Gold Ranger. I don't care what you call yourself. I just love _you._" 

They kissed again, their hearts, hands, and bodies all joined together in one, for now and forever. 

**The End**


	52. Chosen Amber

**Chosen Amber  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

In Divatox's submarine, things were going just as they always did these days. Elgar was playing with his toys, Rygog was glowering at everything, and Porto was waiting to be commanded. Divatox prowled up and down, snapping out harsh words to one and all. "I have to get rid of those Power Rangers. ..and that _Amber_ one just gets on my nerves so much!" 

"I know what ya mean!" her idiot nephew told her. Divatox ignored him for her pacing, he never had a bright idea anyway. He was fun to shoot at, however. 

"I can't even steal her powers from her, they're _born_ into her!" she complained loudly. Elgar shrugged. 

"Pity you can't stop the first one from accepting them, hey, Auntie Di?" 

The evil queen stopped suddenly, staring at him. "What did you just say?" As he repeated it, she grinned wildly. "Porto!" 

"Yes, my captain?" 

Divatox laughed. "Make me a time machine. _Now_!" 

"Yes, captain!" Porto was used to demanding. . .and doing. ..the impossible on short notice. This was nothing new to him. As he wandered off to his lab, he heard Divatox laughing behind him. 

"I'm going to destroy her before she's even _born_!" 

* * *

It was a typical day the Cranstons. Alaina and Alex were running around all over the place, as Billy and Aura watched them tenderly. Alaina stopped suddenly and looked over at her mother. "Are you having fun, dear?" Aura asked. 

"Yes, Mommy," the young psychic replied, coming over to her. "You got a little bigger." 

Aura smiled. "Well, that happens. You should have seen me when I was going to have you and Alex. I was huge." 

Her daughter giggled. "I saw a picture. What are you going to name her?" 

"I hadn't thought about it yet." 

Alaina climbed up on the bench her mother was sitting on and hugged her carefully. "I love you, Mommy." 

"I love you, too, Alaina." Aura watched as Alex did a couple of flips, showing off, then Billy came out and put William into the playpen with Shaya. 

"Enjoying yourself?" he asked his wife. Aura smiled warmly, looking around the yard full of children. Billy said what was on her mind. "It couldn't get much better than this. No attacks. Our family all together," he whispered softly. "Almost." 

Aura sighed, nodding. "They're happy where they are, and safe. At last. I miss them too, though." 

"We all do." 

Aura grinned as she pulled him down for a kiss. "I love you, Billy." 

"Not in front of the kids!" Billy giggled at her, knowing she would no more do that in front of their offspring than she would in public. Then he kissed her again. "But then again, I can't resist you!" 

His eyes widened suddenly as Aura and all their children flickered, quite literally, out of existence for a moment. He frowned. "Aura?!" 

As they faded back in, he clasped her hand. "What happened?" 

"I . .I felt funny for a second. Kind of. . n. .not here." 

"That's because you weren't," he told her. Aura's eyes widened in shock. "You sort of faded." 

Aura shivered suddenly, not knowing what was going on, but having a definite idea of who was doing it. "What's going on now?" 

"I don't know, but we're going to the Power Chamber." 

Aura nodded, standing up. "Let's go, and bring the kids, just in case," the last thing she wanted to do was risk any member of her family ever again. 

"Okay," he called to the twins as Aura picked up their younger offspring, then the entire clan teleported to the Power Chamber. "Alpha," Billy spoke. "Could you run a scan on Aura?" 

At once the little robot started to scan, and the results came in almost at once. "Aura's Amber Ranger powers are fading." 

"Her powers? How is that possible!?" those powers were built into Aura's soul, it was the next thing to impossible for her to lose them short of the planet blowing up! 

"It isn't, at least not that I know of," Aura told him. Billy wrapped his arms around her, holding her shaking body tight. 

"I think we had better call the Spirit in on this one," he said. Aura nodded, calling out to the being who was linked to her very soul. A moment later, the Spirit of Earth had appeared in the Power Chamber. 

Quickly, she took Aura's hand. "Aura, my child, are you all right?" 

"Spirit, Alpha says my powers are fading somehow, but that's not supposed to be possible!" 

The Spirit glanced around, seeing the results of the tests. "It is not. Unless someone is trying to alter history, it is not possible." 

"Divatox." Aura stated it flatly. "I'd bet on it." 

"Then we must stop her," the spirit would not permit this to happen, no matter what. 

Aura sighed. "If she's changing history, we have to go back in time to stop her, but when. It could be _anywhere_ in time." The very thought of all her ancestors being at the evil mercy of her enemy nauseated her. 

_Help me. ..please. ..someone help me..._

Aura's head jerked up at the sudden voice floating through it. She knew who it was, she knew that thought intimately. "Azure?" 

"Aura?" Billy looked at her, not certain what was going on. What else could be happening now? 

His wife's voice snapped quickly. "Azure's in pain. Get her on the Viewing Globe now, Alpha." The robot quickly obeyed, and both of them turned to look at it. There they saw Azure doubled over in pain, with Adam doing his best to help her. 

"Azure? What's wrong??" 

Azure mumbled vaguely, "It hurts..." 

Adam looked up at the sound of Aura's voice. "I don't know what's wrong with Azure, she just doubled over." 

"When precisely did it happen?" Aura had a hunch, and wanted to check on it quickly. She wasn't surprised when Adam told her it was just a short time earlier: just when she herself had experienced the fading. 

The Spirit spoke up. "Aura, we must go to her, and help her to the Heart of New Kalakan." 

"Then let's go," Aura said firmly. Billy kissed her gently and firmly, holding onto her before she left. 

"Hurry home," he made her promise, and she smiled sweetly. 

"I will." she took the Spirit's outstretched hand, and the two of them vanished from Billy's sight. 

* * *

The time machine was simple to use. Divatox and Elgar simply stepped in, and were transported back to the earliest era of Kalakan history, both clad in the height of fashion for the day. Divatox glanced around, shuddering briefly at the trees, grass, and whispering brook near by. "So this is Kalakan." 

"It's a nice place," Elgar said. "But it doesn't smell bad enough." 

Divatox shrugged. "It's too pretty," she decided. If Zedd wasn't going to destroy this place in a few thousand years, she would have taken care of it herself. 

"So where's what's his name? The guy we're here for?" Elgar asked. He was expecting to smash the first Amber Ranger on the head, possibly strangle him, and then go back to rule the world with Auntie Di. What else could she plan to do, after all? 

"Landros?" Divatox had done her research. "Around here somewhere." She spun around in a sudden circle. "Like my dress?" 

"Yeah, you look great, Auntie D!" 

Divatox smiled wickedly, checking out her outfit to make sure it showed off just the proper cleavage. "I hope I can stop him from taking those powers." 

"If anyone can, you can!" 

The pirate smiled, then glanced down the road. "Hide. Here he comes." Her moronic nephew managed to get out of sight just as Landros came down the road. "Excuse me, sir," Divatox preened at him. "Can you help me, I'm afraid I'm lost." 

Landros, a burly blacksmith, glanced at the beautiful woman there. She was dressed very tastefully, with long violet-colored hair, mysterious eyes, and a general way about her that he liked. "I'd be glad to help you, ma'am." 

_He's got beautiful eyes,_ Divatox surprised herself by thinking. She quickly returned to business. "Could you tell me how to reach Silp?" 

"It's not very far, I'll take you there myself. I live there as a matter of fact." 

Divatox smiled. "Really? That's so interesting. Shall we?" 

"Let's go." 

Elgar watched as the two of them headed down the road, and scratched his head. Auntie Di was looking very peculiar, almost...happy! 

As they reached Landros' home, he smiled at her. "Well, here we are." 

"I hope I can see you again. You're a very sweet young man, Landros," Divatox told him. "Thank you." She gave him a quick and gentle peck on the cheek. 

"What's your name, by the way, young lady?" he asked, blushing somewhat. 

"Diva." 

The blacksmith smiled. That sounded almost like music to him. "That's a beautiful name." Without another word, he waved and started into his shop. She paused him with a word. 

"Landros, let me repay your kindness. Would you care to join me for dinner?" 

"I'd love to," Landros smiled, glancing back over his shoulder. As he went inside, Divatox leaned against a tree and sighed. _ What a man._

* * *

As Aura and the Spirit appeared on New Kalakan, the first thing they saw was Azure rocking back and forth in Adam's arms. The pain appeared to have subsided a bit, and Aura ran straight over to her sister. "Divatox is responsible for this." 

"How?" Azure wondered. 

"She's trying to change history, I think," Aura explained. "It's sapping my powers and erasing me from existence." 

Adam bit his lip. "Then how is it affecting Azure?" 

"Because of the link between Aura and Azure, and because of how closely their lives have been intertwined." All looked to see the Spirit of New Kalakan there, putting a hand on Azure's shoulder as she faded in. 

"I feel like I'm on fire inside," Azure murmured. The Spirit didn't look very happy. 

"Because if Aura does not exist, then you would have died, years ago," they were told how Eric's first attack on her would have resulted in a hemorrhage that wound up killing Azure, and all of them growled at the very mention of the name of the hated son of Zedd. 

Aura took a deep breath. "We have to stop Divatox from what she's doing." 

"Then I think we should go stop her." 

As Azure stood up, Aura smiled. It would be good to go into battle again with her sister, and to see her homeworld one last time. "I'm ready. Let's go." 

Just as they were about to have the Spirits take them back, something like a wave washed through the area, and when it passed, Aura had collapsed onto the ground. Azure raced quickly to her side. "Aura! Come on, don't you dare leave me now!"

The Spirit of Earth looked somewhat weaker. "The waves of history's changes are sapping Aura's physical strength now. You must hurry, Azure." 

"Will I be able to morph?" Azure asked quickly, looking at her own spirit. 

"Yes," the New Kalakan guardian replied. "But you will not have your Zord." 

Azure nodded briefly. "I love you, Adam," was all she said before motioning to her Spirit to send her back in time. The Spirit of Earth looked at her sister. 

"If she isn't careful, she could kill Aura trying to save her." 

The New Kalakan one smiled briefly. "I think that that little piece of history is already being done, even as we speak." 

"I hope so," the Earth spirit touched Aura's face gently. "I cannot exist without her. As you cannot exist without Azure." 

Slowly, they settled into the wait they knew must end. ..before they themselves did. 

* * *

Divatox watched as Landros finished up the meal she had cooked, not even trying to control the lascivious thoughts that were going through her mind as she watched his hands and arms move. 

"You're an excellent cook, Diva. This is the finest meal I've had in months!" 

She smiled warmly, genuinely, at him. "Thank you...you have a healthy appetite." 

"Working at the smithy does that for me," he told her, leaning back. He thought about the work he'd finished that day, an axe of such strength and a fine edge. . .he didn't think he'd ever be able to top it's craftsmanship. He was surprised as Diva started to rub his shoulders expertly. 

"You're so stiff," she purred. "It must have been a hard day." 

"Yes, it was. ..," he leaned back into her backrub, blushing as she said how handsome he was. "You're beautiful...." 

She looked around at him. "I must confess something to you, Landros." 

"What is that? 

"I have only met you today," she knew he knew that, and what she said next, she wasn't quite certain if was true or just another aspect of her plot. "And I have already fallen in love with you." She had never believed in love at first sight. ..but she was beginning to wonder if she might have been wrong about that...and possibly about other things. 

Landros stared at her, then whispered, "I ..I love you too." Their hands began to explore one another, and slowly she pulled him over to his bed. 

And history began. 

* * *

Azure didn't know what she was to expect when she went back in time, but to see a full out battle being waged wasn't it. "What the heck?" she shook her head, glad she'd appeared in an out of the way area, then gaped as she saw a sight she'd never thought to see: Galan, the Amber Ranger Hunter, chasing down some peasants. _ That's right, he was attacking Kalakan with his father around the same time the first Amber Ranger appeared. _"I'm in the right timeframe, then." 

She glanced and saw a familiar face fighting, familiar from a research into Amber history she'd done once. "Okay, that's him. Maybe I should help out, but _not_ morph." 

Adam had taught her quite a few things of fighting, and she used them all now to fight against these warriors attacking the world that meant so much to her sister. She could see that Landros was a very good fighter: and that a mysterious young woman was slicing enemy soldiers not that far from him. 

As soon as the fight ended, the woman went straight over to Landros. "Are you all right?" they had been interrupted during their second session together that morning, after a beautiful night spent in each other's arms, by the attack. Landros had told her that these strange warriors had been attacking off and on for months now, and they had went out to do battle. For the first time, Divatox had struck out against evil. . .and liked it. 

"I am fine, my beloved," Landros kissed her, then turned over to Azure. "Thank you, young miss, for your assistance." 

"Yes, you fought well," the girl told her. Azure nodded. 

"It was my pleasure." Azure looked at the girl, and realized, _That's Divatox!_ "I am Azure Park." 

The woman's eyes narrowed briefly, then nodded. "And what brings you here in such good time?" 

"A quest to save seven people's lives." 

Landros raised an eyebrow, and Azure knew that he was Aura's ancestor. She made the same movement constantly. "A quest? Is there anything I can do to help?" 

"If there is, I'll let you know," she told him. "But I will probably need to find shelter. Do you know anywhere I could stay?"

The young blacksmith smiled. "I have a spare room at my home." 

"Thank you," Azure smiled at the both of them, and Landros put his arm around Divatox. 

"Why don't we go back to my place...and I shall cook you both a wonderful meal." 

Divatox smiled, with just the tiniest edge to her expression. "All right." _I can keep an eye on this twit Ranger, who must have come to stop me. _

That way I can keep an eye on Divatox, Azure thought. "Sounds, great." She winced briefly as her stomach turned. "But then again, maybe I should just lie down." 

"Having problems?" Divatox asked just a little too sweetly. Azure stopped herself from glaring. 

_Nah, just some bloody internal hemorrhaging, no thanks to you!_ "I'll be fine..." 

"Come on, then," Divatox started back to his house, with the two of them following. 

Landros nodded. "We must rest while we can, the attacks could continue." 

_And they will, _Azure thought. She knew that the Amber powers would soon be offered to him: and the fate of a world sealed forever. 

* * *

Hovering over the pastoral planet was a spaceship of most dire and evil aspect. Darek, supreme overlord of evil for that sector, growled as he stared at the planet. "I don't believe those savages got rid of my warriors!" He glared down at his son, Galan, who was looking off into space dreamily. "Galan!" 

"Yeah, dad?" 

Darek growled. "What's so fascinating to you that you can't even pay attention to what I'm saying?" 

"Nothing, dad," Galan rolled his eyes. His father could be so overbearing at times. Conquer this, ruin this, destroy that. He was in a rut. 

Darek's eyes flashed. "Oh, really? Were you even paying attention?" When Galan admitted he wasn't, Darek growled, "Then something was obviously on your mind!" 

"Someone who was at the attack I was leading," the young man admitted. "She was _gorgeous."_

The overlord sighed. He had to explain things to his son again it seemed. "Galan, these people are _savages_, good only to be conquered and enslaved. . . you understand that, right?" 

"I understand. . .but can't we have a _little_ fun with them too?" 

Darek smiled wickedly. "Oh, just a little. But don't forget the reason we're here!!!" 

"I won't...trust me...I won't." 

His father nodded. "You had better not. Now, I noticed one particular person was fighting, the town blacksmith. He could be dangerous, we need to get rid of him." 

Galan nodded. "I saw him near the girl I want. I'll have him killed." _So I can have this luscious creature all to myself._

"Yes, do that," Darek ordered. It was going to be fun to kill and to molest an entire world and its population! 

* * *

Landros slowly emerged from Azure's room, looking concerned. "She's asleep," he told Diva. "Something is wrong with her. It's worrying me, Diva." 

"Oh, I'm sure she'll be fine," Diva said as Landros sat next to her and took he hand. He shook his head. 

"She's starting to run a fever." 

Something that might have been a smile, but was surely not, played across her lips. "She might have been injured in the fight, did you check for that?" As he nodded, she patted his shoulder. "She will be fine." 

She was about to kiss him, when there was a sudden presence in the room, and then a being that quite literally shone with power appeared in the room. "Landros Alantruis." 

"W..who are you?" the blacksmith stared, overwhelmed by the power suddenly in the chamber. 

"I am the Spirit of Kalakan, the essence of all life on this planet." 

The young man quivered, "What do you want from me?" 

Kalakan needs a defender. . .one who will stand up not just to Darek's evil invasion, but to all that will follow. I offer the power of that defender. . to you." 

Landros' hand tightened on Diva's. "Me? Why me?" 

"Because you are strong and good, wise and caring. You protect everyone in this village already. I ask that you extend that protect to the whole world. To all of Kalakan." 

To fight forever. ..to defend an entire world. ..Landros wasn't certain what to do. The thought of it fascinated him, but at the same time, he wasn't sure. As he looked at Diva, however, he knew. "I would be willing to." 

_This is it!_ Divatox shook her head. "Don't do it, Landros." Neither of them noticed as Azure staggered out of the room; the moment she had come to ensure happened had arrived. 

"Why not?" 

"It's too dangerous. .you could get killed in some fight and I'd never see you again!" 

Azure spoke softly. "That is the risk you both took today fighting those things out there. If he took this power, he would be protected more then he would be if he didn't." 

Diva glared at her suddenly, a cruel edge to her voice. "This is none of your concern!" 

"I have family from Kalakan. This is my concern," she looked at Landros. "This is what saves those seven people I told you about earlier: you taking this power." 

The Spirit spoke again. "Only you can decide this, Landros. Should you choose to take it, though, be aware it will be passed down from you, to your firstborn child, to theirs, and so on until the end of time. It will be a legacy of duty, responsibility, power, and purpose." 

"I wish I had a child to pass it down to." 

Divatox flinched a little as the spirit looked at her. "You do. One is already being formed." 

Azure's eyes widened. "She's pregnant?" as the Spirit nodded, Azure realized what had to be happening, and now that she looked a little closer at Divatox, and could see her face without the makeup and mask, she realized that the tilt of the head, the pride in her walk, was all Aura. "Can I talk to you outside, Diva?" 

She wasn't surprised that Diva simply followed her numbly outside. "Congratulations," she said simply. "You're in love." 

Divatox stared at her. "How can you tell?" 

"For someone who has been through hell like I have...it kinda gets easy when you see other people in love...first off...you slept with him...and second...you sounded generally scared when he was offered the job...and third...you fought by his side...and when you looked over to him...you looked worried...that is one look I know all too well...being that my sister, brother in law, and husband were or still are Rangers." 

The pirate shook her head. "I can't be in love with him. . .I'm evil!!" 

"Maybe it's time for you to change your ways. You do have another life to worry about," she gently touched Divatox's stomach. There was no way they could sense the life that early, but Divatox could feel it in her soul. She protested, however. 

"I came back to destroy the Amber Ranger line. . not to found it!" 

Azure smiled. "Looks like there has been a slight change in plans. Look, I can tell you love him. Don't lose him. Love is the greatest thing to be in." 

"I. . .thank you. . .," Divatox said quietly. Azure smiled. 

"You going to stay with him then?" 

The ex-pirate took a deep breath. "Yes. I love him." 

The Gold Ranger smiled, then reached out to put Diva's hand on her flat stomach. "In there is one of the greatest things you will ever know...your child. Warning, you will have to go to the Heart of Kalakan when it's time to be born, and...it will hurt. But you'll forget all that pain when you hold it in your arms, and want to protect that little bundle of joy forever." 

"Thank you, Azure," she chuckled a little. "Just think, the person I controlled and tried to intimidate through fear and did everything I could to destroy. . .I know now, that she is my descendent. .your sister." 

Azure grinned herself. "I think you may wanna come back with me and tell her yourself. I don't think she'll believe me. By the way, those seven lives I was talking about...Aura, her five children...and myself" 

"Why you?" 

The Gold Ranger sighed. "I was thirteen, and I was raped. If Aura hadn't been there, I would have died from internal hemorrhaging, which is what is wrong with me now." 

"That should be changing soon," Divatox turned around and headed into the house. "Landros. The power that the Spirit offers you. You should take them." 

"Are you certain?" It was obvious he'd been thinking about it, and he wanted to do it. 

She nodded. "Yes, and I will stay here with you. I. ..I love you." 

The blacksmith looked at the Spirit, who had not moved. "How to do this?" 

A fire sprang into being in front of them. "Step into the fire," the Spirit said. Landros calmly did so, and heard the Spirit's voice continuing. "Do you swear to defend Kalakan with your life, all your life?" 

"I swear to defend Kalakan with my life...all my life...and beyond." 

"Do you swear to train your children in the arts of the defender, and to defend the Heart of Kalakan, the center of all life, with all within your power?" 

"I swear." 

The Spirit's voice was charged with sudden power. "Then awaken at last to the power meant to be yours: Landros Alanatrius, First Amber Ranger of Kalakan." 

"I thank you, Spirit," Landros said softly. "I will not fail you." 

"I know you won't." 

As the fire faded, Landros looked over to Divatox. "Will you marry me?" he asked. "I haven't known you long, but you are the one I dreamed about all my life." 

"Yes. .I love you." Divatox kissed him deeply, and the Spirit cleared her throat. 

"Do you wish to be wed now?" she asked. 

Divatox smiled. "As fast as possible!" She looked over to Azure. "Would you be matron of honor?" 

Azure was taken by surprise, but there was only one answer. "I would be honored." 

"Thank you." 

The Spirit then began to speak. "Do you, Landros, take Diva to be your wife?" 

Landros nodded. "I do." 

"Do you, Diva, take Landros to be your husband?" 

"I do." 

The Spirit smiled. "Then by all that is Kalakian, I now pronounce you husband and wife." In a flash of light, a legal document of marriage appeared as the two kissed, and Azure smiled. The pain in her vanished as the future was secured. 

But no sooner had it left than there were sounds of explosions outside, and the Spirit lifted her head. "Kalakan is under attack!" 

"Let's go take care of it!" Divatox felt a wild desire to fight for something good for a change, for things that were green and growing. 

"No, there's no reason to risk your child," Azure told her. "Landros and I will go. After all," she smiled, producing her morpher. "I'm from the future. I should fight to save the past." 

Divatox nodded. "And when you're done, I have to go back there for a while. To apologize." 

Azure agreed. There was no way that Aura would believe it, save by Divatox's own mouth! "Let's do this. Gold Ranger Power!" 

"Amber Ranger Power!" For the first time, an Amber Ranger touched the soil of Kalakan, and Landros felt the power rising in him. _ This is my destiny. .this is my legacy._

Together, the Amber and Gold Rangers headed for the battle. Azure saw Galan, and headed for him, hoping to destroy him before he could cause too much trouble. "Who are you?" the evil one growled. Where was the beauty he had been searching for? 

"I am the Gold Ranger." There was no way he was going to know her _real_ name. 

Galan snorted. "You're dead is what you are." 

As the two of them fought, not that far away Landros and Darek were meeting in battle for the first time. "Time to meet your match, Darek!" the Amber Ranger declared. 

"What sort of idiotic posturing is this?" the warlord growled. What did this fool thing he was doing? No one could stand up to him! 

Landros smiled under his helmet. "The kind that protects his world." 

"We shall see!" Darek declared. "What is your name, that I might know what to carve on your tombstone?" 

"I am the Amber Ranger...first in my line." 

Darek laughed. "And you are the _last_ one too!" 

"No, I am not." Landros leaped forward, and found in his hands the great axe he had forged the previous day. _This is now the Axe Of Kalakan, the mightiest weapon of the Amber Ranger line_, he felt the Spirit in his mind. _ Use it well, my champion._

Darek laughed. "You are a fool to think that could harm me!" He leaped forward, as Landros thrust the blade out quickly, inexpertly. 

And Darek felt the bite of the enchanted metal slicing through his armor and into his heart. Slowly, he fell to the ground, his eyes wide and his blood staining the ground. Galan halted his fight with Azure, and turned to see the kill. 

"Father!" he howled, staring at the enemy warrior. "No!" 

Azure stared. I didn't think I'd see this happen, she thought. The setting of history. .. 

"You. .." Galan glared at Landros, all thoughts of the vision he had seen the other day fading. "You killed my father." 

"I didn't mean to," Landros whispered. Galan shook his head. 

"I don't care," the warrior-wizard swore. "I will kill you. .and I will kill _everyone_ descended from you, until there is nothing left! I will _never_ forgive you for this, Amber Ranger, never! I swear on the blood of my father, I will destroy your entire line!" 

He rushed at Landros, sword upraised. Azure moved quickly, knowing she had to save him, and screamed as the sword ripped through her own armor and bit into her shoulder. Galan growled, seeing his troops starting to fall back at the fall of his father. "You will pay, Amber Ranger. I will return, more powerful than ever. From this day on. .I am Galan. .the Amber Ranger _Hunter_!" 

"As often as you return, I and mine shall defend our home," Landros swore. "Hunt us if you will, but we shall _always_ return." Galan only laughed, then vanished. Azure smiled faintly, powering down and holding her shoulder. 

"He is a pain in he butt," she said. _And he's going to get a lot worse. Guess I couldn't mess with fate either._

Landros looked at her. "We need to bandage your shoulder. You saved my life, Azure. Thank you." 

Azure smiled. "Least I could do. But I really need to go back to my time, with Diva. She has some good-byes to say." 

His wife nodded quietly. "I will return, my love." 

The first Amber Ranger hugged her gently. "You'd better. Or I will miss you too much. Return soon." 

Divatox smiled, kissing him. "Let's go," she glanced at Azure, who nodded. 

"What about Elgar?" She had seen him skulking in the bushes around the area while she was looking around. 

Diva shrugged. "I'll send him back to inform the crew I'm staying, and for them to leave Earth at once." 

"Okay," Azure nodded, heading down the road with her. "Let's get busy then." 

* * *

It didn't take but a few moments for Divatox to scream at Elgar long enough to send him back, then she and Azure both teleported back to the future, and the Power Chamber. Azure fell to the ground the moment she got there. "We're back," she breathed, clutching her still untreated shoulder. "Is there a doctor anywhere?" 

As the Spirit of New Kalakan healed her shoulder, the now-awake Aura stared. "You're back!" she smiled, then saw her sister's companion. "Ummmm.. ...." 

"She's okay," Azure smiled. "She's leaving soon, to go back to her husband," Azure liked the way Aura's eyes were rounding. "Oh, and by the way, she's pregnant with the second Amber Ranger." 

"Y. you mean. .she. . she's. .my. . ." The current Amber Ranger couldn't believe her eyes. Divatox said the word. 

"Ancestor." 

Aura fainted. 

Azure giggled a little. "Why did I figure she'd do that?" 

Adam blinked. "Are you sure? That she's. .. ." 

His wife nodded quickly. "Elgar is on his way to Earth to inform her crew to hightail it off Earth. She didn't expect to fall in love with Landros. It seems they did it...and she's pregnant. She mostly came here to apologize...and as soon as Aura wakes up...she will!" 

Aura was slowly starting to recover, and she looked at Divatox as she did. "Divatox. . .you're my ancestor???" 

"Yes," the former pirate nodded. "And I am so sorry for all the pain that I've caused you and the Rangers." She glanced over to Azure. "Thanks to your sister talking some sense into me, I realized that I do truly love the first Amber Ranger, Landros. We were wed earlier today." 

Aura blinked. "My first ancestor. You met him?" 

As Azure nodded, Divatox displayed the wedding band on her hand. "It is time for me to go back. I miss him so much already. I just have to know one thing: forgiven?" 

Aura smiled. "Yes. I can never hold a grudge against a member of the family." She went over and freely hugged her ancestress. Divatox smiled, hugging her back, then looked at her closely, noticing details she never had before. 

"You have my facial structure," she said softly. Aura grinned. 

"I guess a few genetics last across generations." She never had thought she'd like being compared to Divatox. 

The ancestress of the Amber line smiled, waving to the others gathered there. "Farewell, Rangers. I must return to my husband." 

"Good-bye," Aura smiled. "Grandmother." 

"There are about thirty some greats before that," Divatox replied. Aura chuckled. 

"Thirty-four, I do believe." 

As Divatox vanished for the last time, Azure leaned against a console. "Time for some rest?" 

"Definitely!" Aura chimed in. Adam smiled as he hugged Azure strongly. 

"Let's hope it's a permanent one," he voiced the hope they always had when they had won. 

Aura sighed deeply and gratefully, holding onto Billy. "It should be this time." 

"I don't think there are that many evil villains who would dare to attack Earth." 

Aura giggled. "They usually tend to end up dead!" Azure grinned. 

"Or married!" 

* * *

Divatox's old crew was getting ready to leave when a spout of fire suddenly turned into a cold-eyed and cold-hearted warrior in armor. "Where is my cousin?" Jameson, Pirate Lord, screamed. Rygog looked at him. 

"She is in the past of Kalakan!" he told him. Jameson's eyes narrowed. 

"And why is she there?" 

Elgar peeped up, "She fell in love!" 

"With who?" the pirate's voice was cold and frosty. Elgar stepped back carefully. 

"With some guy, Landros, the first Amber Ranger. She told me she was _never_ coming back." 

Jameson growled. "I want a _full_ report of the events." As Elgar reported, Jameson nodded slowly. "Well, Gold Ranger, you shall pay for taking my cousin from the darkness." 

"You tell her, boss!" Elgar shouted, glad to have a real evil person back in charge. Jameson told them not to move the ship, he was going to be taking over. Rygog saluted. 

"Yes, _sir_. What are your orders?" 

The pirate smiled, twirling his sword in one hand. "The return. .of an old enemy." 

**The End**


	53. Golden Recovery

**Golden Recovery  
by: Cynthia and Emerald J**

Azure Park stared into her cup of tea, her eyes distant and moody. She could feel Adam's eyes on her, but she didn't really care. She couldn't bring herself to really _care_ that much about anything at the moment. When a knock came at the door, she looked up more out of habit than anything else, even as Adam started over to it. 

"I'll get it," He told her, slipping over to the front door. She continued to stare down into the dark brown liquid, letting the noises fade away from her conscious mind. 

Adam opened the door and blinked a little in surprise at who was out there: Aura Cranston, his sister in law. "Hey." He smiled warmly at her; she hadn't been by to visit in almost two months. It was plain to see she was pregnant, probably about five months along if he was any judge. He wasn't quite sure how Azure was going to react, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. "What's up?" 

"Just thought I'd come by and visit." Aura smiled as he let her in, taking her jacket almost absently and hanging it over the couch. 

"I should warn you, Azure's in a little bit of a funk." Adam told her. She looked a bit confused, and he just shrugged. He wasn't entirely certain if the reason he thought it was, was right, and he wasn't going to start spreading tales that turned out to be wrong. 

He led Aura into the dining room where Azure nursed her tea, and the Amber Ranger smiled briefly at the sight of her sister. "Azure?" she called out softly, then moved quickly to stop the tea from spilling as Azure looked up a bit too sharply and jostled it. 

"Thanks." The other woman smiled just the tiniest bit at her and sat the cup back down. "What brings you here?" 

"Came to see how things are doing with you. Billy would have come by, but he's kind of busy at the moment." Aura told her, taking a seat carefully. "So how are you?" 

"Okay, I guess." Azure shrugged. "Just thinking." 

Aura tilted her head a little. "What about?" 

"The baby." Azure sipped her tea a little, her gaze returning to it once more. She seemed almost more interested in it than in anything else. 

"What are you thinking about it?" Aura wondered quietly, her fingers toying slightly with the fringe of the tablecloth. 

Azure shrugged at first, then, "I just wish it hadn't ended the way it had. Parents shouldn't have to bury their children before they have a chance to live!" Tears shone in her eyes for a moment, and she fought them back, then looked to see Aura's fingers clasping about her own. Her eyes flicked from there to her sister, then Azure slowly pulled her hand away. "Excuse me." 

She headed upstairs, leaving a confused husband and sister behind her as she did so. Aura frowned in Adam's direction. "What did I do?" 

"I don't know." Adam glanced up the stairs, then back to her. "Why don't you head on home and I'll talk to her. I'll call you later." He was fairly certain he knew what the problem was. If there was a solution, he didn't know it though. At least not now. 

Once the Amber Ranger was gone, Adam went on upstairs and into the master bedroom, and there he found his wife, seated on the bed with a pained expression in her eyes. He only saw it for a heartbeat, however, as she stared down at the floor listlessly. 

"Azure?" 

"Yes?" 

"Want to talk about it?" She nodded briefly and he waited for a few moments, before he realized that she didn't see to know just where to start. "It's still hurting you, isn't it?" He murmured quietly. 

Azure nodded, biting her lip softly as she did so, one arm creeping downward to wrap around her stomach, where once life had been and now was no more. Adam continued quietly. "And it's bothering you about Aura being pregnant." 

She nodded again, and sighed. "I don't like that feeling of jealousy. I shouldn't feel that way about my sister." 

"Would you rather feel that way about some other pregnant woman?" He asked, trying to help her get some kind of perspective. Azure shrugged lightly. 

"I shouldn't feel that way about my _sister_. I want to be happy for her, but I can't be!!" The spurting streams of nausea and jealousy that filled her at the thought of her sister's new baby, and her child that had been denied, were like a poison she couldn't escape. She felt tears starting to slide down her cheeks, and absently took the handkerchief Adam gave her, dabbing at them. 

"There's nothing wrong with how you feel." Adam tried to reassure her. "It's natural." He was no doctor, but he did know a few things. 

"I guess. It just doesn't seem right, though." Azure hated feeling anything wrong towards Aura. They'd been too close growing up for anything to get between them even for a moment. "I should tell Aura at least, shouldn't it?" Adam nodded, and his wife shivered a bit. "She may not like it." 

Adam looked into her eyes softly. "Would you rather hide it from her?" 

"No." Azure sighed, then reached out to the link that she and Aura shared. _Aura, would you please come back? I have to talk to you._

A few minutes later, there was the sound of quiet footsteps on the stairs, and Aura entered the room. Azure patted the bed quietly, indicating for her to sit, and plunged into things. 

"Please, don't take this the wrong way." She carefully started to explain how she had been feeling lately, depressed and sad and jealous of the fact Aura was going to have a child while hers was gone forever. "That's it." 

"I see." Aura said quietly, looking at her. Azure nodded. 

"I don't like feeling that way, but I do." She fidgeted a bit. "Are you upset?" 

Aura didn't answer for a few moments, then, "I'm not happy about it, but I know you're not feeling it on purpose." She stood up and Azure looked up at her, feeling a little better inside, if not much. 

"Please be patient." Azure asked her, and Aura nodded quietly. 

"I'll see you around." 

Aura left quietly, and Azure curled up on the bed, exhaustion sweeping over her as she did so. Adam sat beside her quietly, having remained out of the way while the sisters talked. "Tired?" He asked, knowing the answer even before he asked it. She nodded, and he pulled a blanket over her. Both of them were quiet for several minutes, Adam reaching out finally to pat her hand comfortingly. She pulled it away and sighed, staring down at the floor again as she did so. "What is it?" 

"I don't know." She just stared, the jealousy not having really faded, just become a bit more livable. 

"Want me to leave you alone?" Adam asked. She shook her head and remained where she was, just staring silently. 

* * *

Jameson, cousin of the former Pirate Queen Divatox, watched what was going on with Azure and Aura with a great deal of attention. "Interesting. The Golden Ranger is jealous of her pregnant sister. Why?" 

Rygog, the only one of the henchidiots close enough at the moment, shrugged carelessly. "Who cares? They're only human." 

"Find out!" The overlord demanded with a snap. "Now!!" As the mutant wandered off, Jameson summoned Porto, an idea having formed. As the scientist hustled up, he commanded, "Find Zedd's body and clone him. I want a _good_ one too, so take your time." 

Porto saluted sharply. "Yes, sir!" He quickly hurried away, muttering to himself about the difficulties of finding bodies and extracting the proper DNA and such. 

Jameson returned to watching Azure briefly. "She looks like Divatox." 

"Yeah, she does." Elgar wandered over and peeked for himself. "Kinda weird, huh?" 

"They both do." Jameson pondered, dismissing that in the technical sense, one might claim they were kindred. "Perhaps the Golden Ranger shall take Divatox's place. She is, after all, of our blood." 

Elgar grinned goofily. "And we're all bad to the bone!" 

"As she will be soon." Jameson snapped his fingers and grabbed the book that fell from thin air at the command, then began to sort through it for the spell he wanted. "Let all that you hold dear...no..." He paged through several more incantations, then looked up. "Rygog!" 

The henchmoron hustled in, and bowed quickly. "Yeah, boss? Whatcha want?" 

"Did you find out what the trouble is between them?" Jameson ordered. Rygog spilled his guts, and the commander smirked. "Perfect." He turned the pages until he had what he wanted. "Poor child, full of pain, may what you feel not go away, but remain to torment you until your dying day." He nodded briefly to himself. "There. That will keep her feeling as miserable as she is now. Emotion is a weakness and a weakness must be exploited." He chuckled softly. "Now we just wait for Porto to finish the clone." 

* * *

A month flew by, and Azure did her best to get past her feelings of jealousy. Nothing she tried seemed to work, though. _I wish it would_ She sipped her favorite tea lightly. _I miss Aura._ She felt the tears starting again, and Adam's arm slipped around her. She pulled away almost at once; the thought of him touching her was repugnant for some reason. 

"Sorry," he apologized quickly, and she shook her head. 

"No, I am. I have no reason to pull away from you, and yet I do." Azure sighed quietly and stood up. "I'm going for a walk." 

Almost as soon as Azure left, Billy came up the walk, calling out pleasantly as he did so. Adam just sighed sadly, and his friend frowned. "What's up?" 

"Nothing good." 

Billy sat down beside him and gave Adam a penetrating stare. "What's wrong?" He listened as his friend spilled out the tale, and considered options. "What are you going to do?" 

"I don't know." Adam sighed in frustration. "I have _some_ ideas, but I just don't know." 

Billy shrugged. "Bounce the ideas off my head." It wasn't as if he hadn't done the same thing to others before. 

Adam thought for a few moments. "Well, the first thing is just to wait and see what happens." 

"Second?" 

His friend was quiet for some minutes, then, "Put her away." 

There was silence. It was finally broken when Billy said, "I hate saying this, but it might be for the best." 

"I don't know." Adam sighed. "I don't _want_ to." That was the very last thing that he really wanted to do. It was like giving up in a way. 

Billy nodded. "She'd get hands on help, though." 

"What kind?" 

"There are a lot of good shrinks, as well as neurologists," Billy suggested. "You just have to be careful who you pick." 

Adam nodded slowly. "I know. After all, how many of them could really be trusted with everything?" 

"That is something that will have to be researched." Billy told him. "It wouldn't be easy, but it would probably be for the best though." They sat in silence once more, than Billy reached into his shirt pocket. "I came by to drop this off." He handed over a baby shower invitation and stood up. "I'll see you later. Think about it?" 

"Sure." Adam put the envelope aside and waved farewell to his friend, deep in thought already. 

Billy headed out, his mind almost shifting to other things, until he passed a tree and saw Azure on the other side, arms wrapped tightly around her knees and shivering a bit. "Azure? What are you doing here?" 

"Sitting." She replied calmly. "That's all." 

"You look upset." Billy looked at her. "Want to talk or anything?" She shook her head and he watched her for a moment. Whatever was going on, this wasn't something he could deal with, he knew. He bid her a farewell and headed for home. 

Azure headed on into her own house and went to the bedroom, not talking to Adam as she did so. He followed her inside, trying not to look too curious as he asked, "How are you feeling?" 

"Are you really thinking of sending me away?" Azure asked quietly. He did a slight double-take, that hadn't been what he'd been expecting. But he had an answer. 

"Only with your permission and only if we could agree on someone who is competent. That isn't something I'm just going to snap my fingers and decide to do. I want to _help_ you, Azure, but I don't know how. Maybe someone else does. Don't you want to be helped?" 

Azure looked down. "Just do it." 

"Did you hear what I said?" Adam felt a bit annoyed at this. "I'm not just going to 'do it'." 

His wife shook her head. "I agree with you. I'm not in any position to make a decision on who to go to." 

"You're not insane!" 

"I _am_ emotionally unstable." 

Adam sighed. "You can still make decisions." She was not going to just weasel out of this, no matter how hard she tried. 

"Please," she shook her head. "Just pick a doctor for me and be done with it." 

Neither of them said anything for a few moments, until Adam finally sighed in defeat. He could tell she wasn't going to back down, no matter what. "You'll get us as visitors. Regularly." He promised her, seeing the tears form up in her eyes. "And you will come home." 

She only nodded slightly, and both of them felt a little worried. Adam knew in his heart, nothing good was going to come from this. 

* * *

"Are you Dr. Yugi?" Adam looked into the room, and the man behind the desk nodded politely at him. "I'm Mr. Park." 

"Nice to meet you," Dr. Yugi replied with a pleasant smile. 

"You've come highly recommended," Adam sat down at the doctor's motion, noticing the various degrees and diplomas on the wall behind him. 

The other nodded. "Thank you. I've worked hard for those recommendations as well." 

"I'm sure you have." Adam glanced briefly towards the door, and hoped that this was the right thing to do. If it wasn't, he would never forgive himself. 

The doctor pulled out a notebook and a pen and gave him a sharp look. "Now, what was it that you wanted to discuss?" 

"My wife." Adam placed the file he'd been carrying on the desk. Within it was everything that the family doctor had ever had on Azure. "She's agreed to do whatever you think best for her condition." 

Dr. Yugi nodded as he paged through the file. "I see. I believe that I can help her. She'll have to stay in our hospital for a while, of course. I've found that the therapy I practice usually works best if the subject is kept in an entirely new and different environment for the first month or so. No contact with the past that caused the problem. You will, of course, be updated." 

Adam nodded, feeling a chill down his spine for some reason. There was something eerily familiar about this doctor. _It's just nerves,_ he told himself. But he couldn't quite believe that. "Thank you. When do you want us to bring her?" 

"As soon as possible. I'd also like to speak with her before you leave today." The doctor told him. Adam nodded. 

"I could have her sent in." He murmured. "She's in the lobby." at the doctor's nod, he hurried out. A few moments later, Azure entered the office, closing the door behind her. 

Dr. Yugi motioned her to the seat. "Please, sit. How are you feeling?" 

"Okay." 

He watched her for a moment. "I'm going to help you." She murmured thanks as he stood up and came over to her, one hand slowly caressing. He grinned an evil little grin, enjoying this. "I'm definitely going to help you." Unknown to Azure, this was not Dr. Yugi: this was Jameson. He enjoyed playing with her, teasing and using her. This was just the beginning, as far as he was concerned. 

"How soon am I coming to the center?" She asked once they were done, obviously totally under his spell. 

Jameson smirked as he watched her. "This weekend." 

"Not sooner?" 

The 'doctor' chuckled. "That's up to you and your husband." 

She shot him a look. "We agreed that we would do what the doctor thought best." He nodded as he caressed her a little more, then she started to sit up. "I'll see you this weekend." 

Azure shut the door as she walked out, looking over at Adam as she did so. "I am _not_ going to him." 

"Azure?" Adam lit up at the sight of a fire in her eyes that had been gone for quite a long time. "What happened?" 

When he heard, he growled, softly, ready to go in there and tear that bastard's head from his neck for daring to touch his wife. He kept his temper under control, however. "Let's go home." 

It didn't take them long to get there, and almost as soon as they passed within the walls, she teleported to the Power Chamber. "We have a new enemy!" Azure declared as soon as she was solid again, Adam reforming beside her. 

Zordon looked at her in concern. **What has happened?**

Azure filled them in, her eyes flaming with brilliant fury as she spoke. "That...that _asshole_ is...is..." She couldn't find the words, no matter how hard she tried, then relaxed as the rest of the team arrived, among them Aura. "Hey, sis." The Golden Ranger relaxed at once as the two of them hugged briefly. "We have a new enemy. I don't know who he is, but it's _someone_." She explained what had happened once more, and the rest of the team was soon quite as ticked off as she was. 

"I'm going to kill him." Aura said flatly, her eyes flaming in fury. Azure leaned into her husband. 

"That is for _me_ to repay him." She said quietly. "I'm going to hurt him for what he did. _Painfully_ Hurt him." 

"Very painfully?" Adam asked. He wouldn't normally condone this; none of them would, but this was a special situation. 

"He'll wish he were dead." 

Adam nodded, holding her. "We have an advantage right now. As far as we know, he doesn't know we know about him." 

Azure shrugged. "Unless he saw us coming here. And when I don't show up this weekend for my 'appointment'. But there is no way in _hell_ I'm going anywhere with him." 

Adam put a gentle arm around her. "I know. I'll be with you, though. You'll be safe." 

Azure leaned into him for a moment, then looked up. "I'm going to bed. Aura, watch yourself. I don't want him laying a finger on you or the baby. I will not have you going through what I am!" 

"I'll be careful." Aura promised. She had never feared any villain, and she wasn't going to start now. 

Azure nodded. "Don't forget the link." She leaned against Adam, drifting off almost at once from exhaustion, then felt herself being picked up by Adam and teleported out. 

* * *

Azure glanced around the house and frowned. She hated it when she lost things. "Have you seen my other sandal?" She asked Adam, who shook his head. 

"I don't think so." Azure always lost the oddest things. How could one lose footwear? "Have you checked under the bed?" He suggested. Both of them did a little exploring before Katia came in with the shoe balancing on her head neatly. 

Azure chuckled at the sight, then carefully put it on, Adam steadying her so she wouldn't fall over. She had a slight tendency to be unsteady at times, and he always helped her. "Katia, go upstairs, and stay in your room with your sister." She'd gotten a look out the window, and what she saw made her want her kids safe. 

Once Katia was out of sight, she went straight for the door and opened it. 'Dr. Yugi' stood out there, with an expression of fake concern on his face. "What are you doing here?" She asked coolly. 

"You were supposed to come to the hospital." He said, affecting a smile. She shook her head, reaching back to hold Adam's hand. 

"I'm not going anywhere. Especially not with _you_." 

He grinned at her, a dark gleam in his eyes. "Oh, but you are." 

"Go to hell!" She snapped. "Excuse me, but I have things that I must do." He started to reach for her, and she kicked him quickly and hard. "I don't know who you really are, but I am _not_ going anywhere with you!" He snorted, reaching out again for her, and earning another kick for it. "I suggest you leave. Now!" 

He glared, snarling, "I _will_ have my revenge." 

"Yeah, yeah," She rolled her eyes. "Whatever." As he vanished, she dropped Adam's hand and quickly slipped upstairs, wanting her daughters. She couldn't get used to Adam's touch just yet. 

* * *

"Porto!" Jameson snapped the name as soon as he reformed on his base. As the chubby scientist hustled out, he glared at him. "Is the clone ready?" 

"Not yet." Porto checked over his notes, and the master growled in fury. 

"When will it _be_ ready?" 

The other shrugged. "I'm not certain. Getting this done right will take a while." 

Jameson growled in fury. "You better hurry!" 

Porto looked at him with annoyance in his eyes. "I'd better _not_ if you want this done right! Or do you want a flawed copy?" 

"I only want it to kill the Amber Ranger and her baby!" His employer snapped. Porto leveled a stern look at him. 

"And if it's not done right, it won't even scratch her skin, much less kill her! If you just want some mindless killing automaton, you can make your own monster!" 

Jameson snarled in fury, "Don't you _dare_ talk back to me! I am a _lot_ worse than Divatox with punishment!" 

Porto had had enough, though. "If you want to punish someone for telling you the truth, then you'll do it no matter what I do! So don't bother me till I tell you it's ready!" 

Jameson punched him in the gut, hard, knocking him over onto his back. Porto's feet kicked helplessly; he couldn't get back up without some help. _This is **so** humiliating..._

The commander picked him back up, then looked at him. "I don't mind you doing your work correctly. I just don't like my employees talking back to me. If you need any assistance, let me know." 

Porto nodded. "I will let you know." _Uppity bastard._

As the scientist headed back to his laboratory, Jameson turned to Rygog. "Find me two scientists and keep an eye on them. If Porto requests assistance, get me one of them." He ignored the blue-shelled monster as it hustled off, and returned to a project he'd been thinking about for a while: finding an appropriate partner. Not a true mate, but just someone he could have fun with and use for a while, who would like that. 

It didn't take him all that long to find what he was looking for: a harlot in one of the cities this planet boasted. He didn't bother finding out the name of the place, it didn't matter, she wasn't going to be there that long anyway. He teleported over to her directly. 

"What's your name?" He approached forthrightly, this was a business deal and he was great at them. She looked him up and down appraisingly. 

"Robin." She licked her lips as she watched him and he liked the sight of her. She was easy on the eyes, experienced, and as ruthless and cunning as he was. 

"How would you like to come to work for me?" Jameson asked, pulling out a diamond necklace and waving it at her. She glanced at it casually, judging it's quality. 

"Nice piece of rock there." 

He grinned and started to put it on her. "This is only the beginning." "Rubies, emeralds, sapphires, your own apartment, a nice big clothing allowance, and me. What do you think?" 

She considered for perhaps a heartbeat. "Deal." With no more than that, he teleported her to the Subcraft, into his private quarters. He pulled an outfit reminiscent of the ways some cultures had thought Greek goddesses had dressed and tossed it to her. "Put it on." She looked just as incredible in it as he thought she would, and he set about showing her just what it was he wanted from her. 

* * *

Billy graded papers carefully, aware of his wife seated not that far away as she read. She was almost seven and a half months along, and with that new villain around, he was making certain nothing happened that shouldn't. He went through the last of the papers, then started to pack up. "I hate to do this, but I have to go soon." 

"It's okay." She reassured him. "I'll be fine." 

He frowned lightly. "I could call Azure..." He wasn't taking her reassurances that well. 

"I'll be _fine_!" Aura loved Billy, but he could get on her nerves at times. He was about to head out the door when there was a flicker of reality, and a figure they had thought gone for years appeared in the center of the room. 

"No..." Billy stared in shock at Lord Zedd, then shook his head. _I'll figure this out later._ "Get out of here!" He headed over to where the monstrosity was stalking Aura, who had to back up quickly. _She's pregnant, she can't morph, and she can't run that fast now either!_

He called on his powers quickly and morphed, leaping for Zedd as fast as he could. The battle was short and brutal, and ended up with Billy crashing into the wall and demorphing. "Billy!" Aura growled angrily, and was prepared to take on her enemy alone, until his metal-covered hand knocked her into the wall. _Help!!!_ Her mind cried out before she was even aware of it. 

As always, someone was listening. Azure appeared, fully morphed as the Golden ranger. "You are dead meat." She looked coolly at the monster there and called forth her staff. Before another move could be made, she slammed it right into his heart. 

_He wasn't the real Zedd,_ she noted almost clinically as the creature vanished. _The real Zedd had more backbone._

Azure hustled over to her sister and checked on her, then called an ambulance after demorphing. "Sis?" She murmured quietly. "The ambulance is on it's way." She quickly checked on Billy and then came back to Aura. "Billy's just knocked out, he's already starting to come around." 

Aura's eyes flickered, and she smiled as she heard her husband groaning and mumbling about his aching head. There was a pain in her stomach, and she saw Azure look down, then look up. "Aura, your water...it broke. You're going to have the baby." 

Aura shivered a little; that was not such a good thing to have it so early. There wasn't anything she could do about it just now, however, and she let herself drift away as the paramedics came in. Azure was taking care of things. She could trust her sister. 

"My sister just went into labor," the Gold Ranger told the paramedics, "and her husband had an accident there." She watched as they took Aura off to the hospital, then went over to Billy. "Aura's in labor." She told him, then looked at the one paramedic who had remained. "Are they going to be all right?" 

"I think so." He squatted down and took care of the small wound on Billy's forehead. Once that was taken care of, both of them headed for the hospital fast as they could. 

By the time they got there, Aura was too far into labor for either of them to join her, so Billy and Azure spent the remaining time pacing in the waiting room. Almost half an hour after their arrival, a nurse they recognized from previous visits came over to them. "How are they?" Azure wondered. 

"Well, it's a girl," the nurse replied. "But your sister fell into a coma once the child was born." Azure fell back into her chair in shock, shuddering. This couldn't be happening. "I'm sorry. You can see them later." 

Azure nodded briefly, then caught sight of someone walking in behind her. "Christi?" Her eyes widened as the person turned to look at her. It _was_ her friend! "When did you come into town?" She hurried over to hug her. 

"Just today. What's wrong?" Christi noticed the tears in her eyes, and wondered what was up. Azure quickly filled her in, then waved Adam over as he entered the hospital. 

"Adam, this is Christi. Christi, this is my husband Adam." She filled him in on what was going on with Aura and the baby. "I'm going to go home and sleep for a while. Call me if there's any change." 

Adam nodded quietly. "Will do." He watched as she left, then found a seat, Christi sitting beside him. 

"So, what do you do for a living?" 

He smiled politely at her. "Photography assistant." He didn't mind talking, but he had a lot on his mind right now. 

"Really? I'm an interior designer," Christi offered. She watched him page through a magazine, then asked, "How about a cup of coffee? We can go to my place. I don't know of many places around here with decent coffee." 

Adam shrugged. "I'm going to be staying right here. I promised Azure that I'd keep an eye out for news on Aura." 

"All right." She agreed amenably. "I'll go get one." She headed off, and when she returned, Aura's usual doctor was with her. 

"Billy is resting comfortable, and is sound asleep," he told Adam. "There is no change with Aura. It's a light coma, which hopefully means her body is just recovering. Why don't you head home?" 

Adam nodded; Azure was going to enjoy hearing that. Christi offered him the cup of coffee she had, smiling politely. "Here you go." She sipped her own and made a face. "Yuck. Hasn't gotten any better." 

When he sipped his own, he felt a trifle sick. "This is gross." 

"Let me make you a cup," Christi offered. "You look like you could use someone to talk to." 

He thought for a moment, then nodded. "I'll call Azure first." He had to let her know what was going on with Aura anyway. He headed to the pay phone and dialed home quickly, only to find the answering machine was taking calls at the moment. "Azure, Billy's okay, and Aura's just in a light coma, the doctor thinks her body is just recovering. She'll be okay. I'm going over to Christi's for a cup of coffee, and then I'm coming on home. See you then. Love you." 

When he got back to Christi, she asked, "How did she take it?" 

"Answering machine got it, I think she's asleep," Adam told her. Christi nodded, and the two of them headed out. "I won't be staying long." He told her. He liked her; she was a nice person, but he was too experienced in the way villains thought to think that this new one wouldn't try _something_ with this. 

She nodded at him. "That's okay. What's troubling you?" The trip from the hospital to her place wasn't long and they were already pulling into her driveway. "Something is bothering you and Azure, and it's not Aura and Billy." 

"It's not really your problem." He hedged. He knew what it was, and that he didn't want to talk to anyone about it. 

Christi started to make him a cup of coffee. "Want to talk about it?" She was patient as he leaned against the wall, then once it was hot enough, handed the cup to him. "Do you?" 

"Maybe." 

She watched him. "Am I going to have to coerce it out of you?" 

He was quiet for a few moments, then sighed. "Azure doesn't really want me to touch her and it bothers me." 

"You tell her about it?" 

He shook his head. "Not yet." 

Christi reached out to take his hand, her voice soothing and supportive. "You should." 

"I know." He looked over at her, then to the hands touching one another. It was a feeling he hadn't had in quite a while. Caught up in something he couldn't quite understand, he leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips. 

**The End**


	54. Golden Recovery II

**Golden Recovery II  
by: Cynthia & Emerald J**

Adam pulled back suddenly, realizing what he was doing. Christi pulled back as well. "I'm sorry." She quickly told him, flushing. He shook his head. 

"No, I am." How could he have _done_ that? This was more than just a casual acquaintance, this was one of his wife's best friends! 

"We both kissed," Christi reminded him. "I don't think we should tell Azure, though." 

For a moment, Adam agreed, then he thought of what might happen if Azure found out from some other source. That would be beyond painful, for him. "I'm not going to hide it from her." 

Christi nodded slowly. "All right. Give my love to Azure...if she's still talking to me once you tell her." 

Adam smiled briefly. "I'll let you know." He headed home quickly, heading into the bedroom. Azure was just waking up as he came in, and she looked at him with aware eyes. 

"What did you do?" 

He gulped mentally, glad that he'd decided not to conceal it from her anyway. He sat beside her, then quietly told her everything that had happened, including why he'd done it, and waited for her reaction. She looked at him for a moment, then slapped him harshly across the face and curled up angrily. 

"I'm sorry, Azure." He winced from the pain of it; she was no weakling. "I do love you." 

Azure closed her eyes, not understanding how he could do this. "Adam, why didn't you tell me _earlier_?" She wasn't certain what had been more painful, him kissing her friend or not talking to her about what was bothering him. 

"I didn't know how." 

She shook her head. "Just _say_ it." 

"It's not as easy as it sounds," Adam told her quietly. Azure fixed him with a steely glare. 

"You had no problems telling my friend!" 

He winced; she wasn't quite accurate, but the point was he _had_ told Christi and not her. "Yes, because sometimes it's easier to talk to someone you _don't_ know." That was, after all, how psychiatrists and the like made their money. "I wanted to tell you." 

"But you didn't know how to talk to your own wife." She sighed quietly, then slipped off to answer the call of nature, taking some time to relax and think about things. When she came back, she looked at him. "I'm sorry. I should've been more open to how you've been handling the miscarriage. And how _I_ was handling it." She reached out to take his hand and then kissed him softly. 

"I love you." He told her. 

"I love you, too." 

She curled up on the bed, still tired from earlier, and started to drift off. Her eyes flashed open when Adam snuggled in next to her, however. She watched him for a moment, then saw his eyes open and look at her. Something occurred to her. "Adam? How do you feel about the miscarriage?" 

"I wish it hadn't happened." He said quietly, a soft and pained look in his deep dark eyes. 

"Is that all?" 

He shook his head. "I'm upset for you and for me and for the child. We lost something before we ever really had it." He was choking up a bit, and she patted him on the hand, returning a gesture that he'd made to her frequently, then wiped a tear from his eyes as he looked at her. 

"Keep going if you want to." She advised. 

He thought for a moment. "I feel like I want to scream, but it wouldn't do any good. Nothing can be done to undo it." 

"Just scream." She smiled a tad. "It just might help you feel better." 

Adam shook his head. "Not right now. It's a bit late and I don't want to wake up anyone else who might be sleeping." 

She smiled at him and asked, "Anything else?" 

"Nothing I can put into words right now." He let her curl into him and held her as _she_ now broke down, sobbing and leaving him to make quiet soothing noises that at least made him feel a bit better, regardless of if they actually soothed or anything. She looked up at him through her tears. 

"You can cry too." She whispered. As if that had released a kind of dam in him, tears began to slide down his face. The two of them cried in one another's arms, until Azure lifted her head up, looking at the door. "Yes, honey?" 

Katia was standing there, looking at her parents with worried eyes. "Are you okay?" 

"I will be." Adam looked over his shoulder and smiled at his daughter, whom Azure invited to join them. 

"Adam, would you get Jeni. There is something we all have to talk about. Something that we've been avoiding for a while." 

Once the family was together, Azure looked at them all. "We need to talk. Can anyone guess what about?" Katia patted her mother's stomach light, and Azure nodded. "Is there anything you wish to tell me about your feelings about the baby?" 

"I miss it," Katia said softly. Jeni nodded. 

"I wanted to be a big sister!" 

Azure smiled a bit at her children. "One day, you just may be." 

Both of the children looked up suddenly as the Spirit of New Kalakan appeared before them, gracefully seating herself as she did so. "Greetings, children. Jeni, Katia...do you know that the baby just wasn't ready to join you yet?" 

Jeni nodded, looking at her. "But why? Did we do something that made it mad?" 

The Spirit shook her head. "No. Things have to happen when it's time, and it isn't quite time yet." 

Katia looked at her. "Why not?" 

"I do not have _all_ of the answers." The Spirit told her with a faint smile. "I try, but I even I do not know _everything_." 

Azure held Adam's hand gently. "Spirit, do you know how Aura and the new baby are?" 

"Resting." 

Azure sighed. "Aura is still in her coma, isn't she?" The spirit nodded quietly. 

"She should awaken soon, however." The Spirit told them, then stood up. "I take my leave of you now." 

As she faded away, both girls yawned deeply. "Sleepy girls." Adam smiled. "Time to go back to bed." He picked Jeni up carefully, and with Katia pattering in his wake, headed to put them back to bed. 

"Where were we?" Azure asked as he came back in, and she snuggled back to him. "Did you want to finish something?" 

All was quiet for a few minutes, then she felt the wet splash of tears as he began to finish his own tears and his own mourning. Slowly the two of them cried once more, more quietly this time, easing each other into sleep. 

It was a sleep that didn't last very long however, for Azure. She could feel that something was wrong somewhere, but she couldn't put her finger on it. On an instinct, she got up and headed for the hospital to see her sister. 

* * *

Azure walked up to Aura and watched her for a moment. "Sis?" There was no response. "Aura...get your butt out of bed!" There was still no reaction, and Azure swore under her breath. Almost at once, her head came up as she sensed the presence of someone teleporting in 

She turned to see their enemy, the one who had posed as her wanna be doctor, strolling closer. "Get out of here and away from my sister!" She ordered. He ignored her and came closer. "Who are you?" 

"Your enemy." 

Azure rolled her eyes. "Name please." 

"Jameson." He gave a slight mocking bow and she nodded briefly, never taking her eyes off of him. 

"Thank you. Now, why are you after my sister and I?" 

He stalked closer. "Because you deserve to die." 

This was getting boring. "What crime did we do?" She wanted to keep him busy, hoping that he'd get bored and leave, or that one of the others would show up. 

"Being born. And turning Divatox to _good_." There was something in the way he said it that made it seem the vilest of insults. 

"Ah. Didn't do that. The guy who did is dead." 

He shrugged. "You're still responsible for it." 

"True, but it was her choice," Azure sat down calmly and watched her sister's comatose form. "Can you do me one favor?" 

"I don't do favors for enemies." Jameson smiled toothily and started towards her again. 

"Okay." She accepted that. "I was just going to say if you take revenge on anyone, it's me, not Aura. And we should just take this outside." 

He laughed coldly. "No." He was obviously not interested in a fair fight. 

"What do you want?" 

The answer was quite simple. "You all dead. All of you." 

"All of us or just me?" Azure asked. 

He stalked even closer. "All of you. But you first." 

"Not today, you won't." She smiled as he came closer, then blocked the sudden attack that came flaring out. The two of them dodged back and forth, each attack he slung towards her blocked, no matter how it was delivered. "You sure you don't wanna take this outside?" He growled harshly, and she grinned. "Just thought I'd ask." 

She was taken off guard by a backhanded swipe that knocked her through the window and spinning towards the ground two stories below. She lay there in pain, cut and torn by the broken glass, as Jameson lightly leaped down and kicked her hard. 

His amusement was broken when the Phantom Ranger arrived, morphed, and kicked him firmly in the groin. It wasn't a move Billy used often, but this was special. "Get out of here." He growled. "Now!" 

The evil commander looked at him for a moment, then vanished, obviously considering discretion the better part of valor. Billy came over to check on Azure as she sat up carefully. "How do you feel?" 

"Fine." She winced as she made it to her feet and looked around. 

"Did he break anything?" Billy looked her up and down carefully; the last thing he wanted was her to be injured. 

She shrugged. "The wall and the window." 

"What about on you?" 

"Nope." Azure looked down to see blood on her shirt and winced. "Excuse me." She headed quickly back to her home, noting Billy demorphing and going inside, presumably to check on Aura. As soon as she was home, she stripped and tossed the bloody clothes into the hamper, staring at the various cuts, bruises, and contusions all over her from the fight and her meeting the window and ground at such high speeds. 

She heard Adam coming in, and quickly pulled her housecoat on and around her. _Hope he didn't see any of that._ She smiled at him as he looked at her. "Hi. What's wrong?" He was looking at her somewhat oddly. 

"Why are you wearing that?" He indicated the housecoat. 

"Going to take a shower." She smiled innocently at him and headed into the bathroom, feeling blood drip down her leg. 

Adam blinked after her. "Azure, have you gotten hurt or something?" At her confused look, he pointed to the blood dripping, and she flinched. 

"Oh, um, just a little cut." 

He glanced at it, not sure she was telling the truth or not. "Want me to take care of it?" 

"No, I can." She insisted as she went into the bathroom and closed the door. She removed her robe carefully and reached for the wound ointment, not noticing the door as it opened quietly. 

"Azure?" She almost jumped out of her skin as she heard Adam call her name, then stare at her injuries. "What _happened_?" 

"Well.." She hesitated for a moment. "I sorta fell out of a window." As he stood there, she got the water going, then stepped inside. For a moment, all was well, then she screamed as water hit the untended wounds, and she fumbled quickly to get the water turned off. She slid carefully down, tears falling at the pain, then jerked back as Adam tried to hold her. "Don't touch me!" 

He watched her for a few moments, then carefully got the wound ointment and set to work carefully taking care of her injuries. As gentle as he was, it still stung quite a bit as he did so, but soon she was both cleaned and tended to. "How's that feel?" 

"Better," she murmured, tugging her robe on. "I'm going to take a nap." 

Adam cleaned up things in the bathroom, frowning as he heard her quiet sobs of pain. _I wish I could help her heal up faster, but some things even Ranger powers can't do._

"Azure?" It was Billy's voice, and he'd obviously heard the same cries. "I knew she was hurt." 

Adam came out of the bathroom and looked at him. "What happened?" Maybe he'd get a clearer account from him. He listened as Billy told him of Jameson's attack on the hospital, and how Azure had driven him off. 

"How badly is she hurt?" The Phantom Ranger wondered. Adam shrugged. 

"Cuts, mainly, some gashes." Overall it really wasn't bad, there were just so many of them that it made sleeping intolerable. 

In her room, Azure lay there, trying to concentrate. "Spirit..." 

"Azure." She looked up to see the filmy spirit of New Kalakan seated beside her. "It seems you need a little help, my child." 

Azure winced a bit as she sat up, then stiffened as she felt the healing power of the spirit move through her. The Spirit was careful not to heal her too quickly, since that would cause quite another kind of pain, but soon Azure was in a deep, pain-free sleep. 

"Is she going to be all right?" Adam asked from the doorway. The Spirit nodded quietly, and Adam smiled. That made him very happy. 

Billy had his own news. That was his main reason for coming over there in the first place. "Aura woke up. She'd felt Azure's fall." 

Adam frowned slightly. "Is she all right?" Billy nodded, then both of them looked up as Azure stirred a little. They watched for a moment, then she sat up and got up, heading swiftly past them without a word. The two men looked at each other in confusion, then followed her down to the kitchen where she was having a quiet glass of water. 

"How are you feeling?" Adam asked, watching her nervously. She had just been healed; she shouldn't be awake, much less walking around. She only shrugged, and he frowned. "You should rest a bit more." 

"I'm fine." She sipped a bit more, then slipped outside, seating herself on a convenient log. Adam watched for a moment, then came over to sit by her. 

"Want to visit Aura later?" He was worried about her; she wasn't quite acting her normal self. Ever since their fight and catharsis earlier, he was doing his best to be more concerned about her, and to talk, but she wasn't making it easy. _Not to mention that Jameson could try to attack at any minute._

Azure stared up at the sky, then shot him an annoyed glance as he moved closer to her. "Back off, Adam." He looked at her in confusion, and she frowned. "You heard me." He inched back, and she shook her head. "More. In fact, why don't you just go back inside?" He sighed deeply, and she almost growled. "Don't give me that." 

"I didn't know it was annoying because I was worried about you!" He snapped. Azure rolled her eyes.

"You are _hovering_!" 

He winced; he knew just how she felt about hovering. She didn't move at all as he hurried back inside, and looked at where Billy was standing. "She said I was hovering." 

"Usually do." Billy chuckled sagely. Adam glanced back outside. 

"Is it wrong to be concerned?" Billy shook his head, and his friend chuckled a bit. "Just annoying?" 

"Yup." Billy agreed. "At least that's what Aura tells me." 

Adam smiled, watching Azure for a moment, then asked, "Staying for dinner?" 

"Nope." Billy started towards the door. "I've got to get back to Aura. I'll see you later." He headed quickly out the door as Azure came in the other, looking preoccupied. 

"What do you want for dinner?" Adam asked, getting only a shrug for an answer as she headed on up the stairs. 

Katia and Jeni were busily playing, but they dropped that quickly as their mother come in. "Hey, you two! What do you think about inviting your grandparents up here for a day?" 

The girls looked thoughtful, then Jeni asked, "Which ones?" 

"Grandma and Grandpa Park," Azure told them. Both girls nodded eagerly and Azure smiled at them. "Now, do you want to tell your father?" They both nodded, and she sent them scooting along to do so. 

"Daddy! Daddy!" The two terrors ran down at once and attached themselves to their father's leg. "Grandma and Grandpa Park are coming for a visit!" 

Adam smiled as he looked up the stairs to see Azure looking back at him. "When?" He wondered. His parents still didn't quite know about where they had moved. 

"Soon. As soon as we figure out how to tell them." Azure told him. "There's pizza in the freezer for dinner. I'm going to be in our room. The girls have a play date at Shaya's in twenty minutes." 

Adam nodded quickly and briskly. "I'll see that they get there." Azure nodded and went on into their room as the girls headed outside to play. _I'll handle the pizza after I take them over there. I think things are going to be okay._ He turned as he saw Azure's shadow on the stairs again. 

"Thank you." She smiled at him, and he knew things were looking up. 

* * *

Jameson threw things rapidly at his crew, doing his best to vent his frustrations. He glared over at Robin. "Tell me, my dark princess, what do you think would be a good downfall for that Gold Ranger?" 

The ex-harlot considered for a moment. "That friend of hers that her husband kissed...perhaps if they _hadn't_...just kissed..." 

"How so?" 

She shrugged. "Is a lust potion available? Or something to _create_ lust?" 

Jameson thought for a moment, then pulled out his spellbook and paged through it quickly. He grinned wickedly. "Here it is." With a flicker of effort, he cast it on both Christi and Adam, then sat back with a satisfied grin. This was going to be amusing...for him. 

**The End**


	55. Revelations

**Revelations  
by: Cynthia & Emerald J**

Azure stared into her tea, her mind roaming over various options. It was very hard to make a choice like this, but it had to be done, for a variety of reasons. She glanced up when she heard her husband calling her name. "Yes?" 

"You okay?" Adam wondered. "You look kind of distracted." He always looked so adorable when he was worried about her. 

"Just thinking." She smiled at him. "About what to make you for dinner. Your parents have the girls and we're alone." There was a gleam to her eye that hadn't been there in a while, and she was certain he saw it. "What would you like?" 

"How about lasagna?" She was fairly certain that he'd picked that since they both enjoyed it a great deal, and they usually had the ingredients for it on hand. As he started to set the table, she got to work making it, her hands working deftly to put everything together. 

About halfway into the preparation, a sudden wave of dizziness swept over her. She clutched at the countertop to keep herself from falling until it passed, taking several deep breaths until she was feeling steadier on her feet. _I don't think Adam noticed. Good._ She hated worrying him, and this was probably nothing. She'd been under some stress lately after all. It was nothing to worry either of them. 

As dinner cooked, she fished around in a drawer and pulled out to candles she handed to Adam to be placed on the table. He looked at her innocently. "So what's the occasion?" She flashed a hurt look at him, and he continued to look innocently back at her, rousing her ire. 

"You honestly don't know?" 

He pretended to think about it, and it was so obvious he was pretending it got on her nerves. "Adam!" She hated it when he tried to pretend to forget their anniversary. 

"Yes?" 

She sighed. "Nothing." 

"I'm teasing you, Azure." He kissed her lightly, then helped her put dinner on the table as the timer bell rang. Once it was divided between them, they ate in silent contemplation for some time, only making minor comments on the state of the food or drink. 

Once it was over with, though his plate had been virtually scoured clean, hers still had remains on it. Adam eyed it for a moment, but said nothing. _Azure usually has a good appetite, but she's just not been herself. I hope nothing's wrong with her._ He would've liked it if she went to check with a doctor, but he knew she could be stubborn. 

Together they cleared the table off, and once it was done, she asked, "Want to sit by the fire?" That was one of their favorite past-times when they had time to do it. He nodded quickly and she smiled. "Would you go start it? I'll bring you some coffee." 

As she got the hot water prepared, another wave of dizziness claimed her. She seized the counter as swiftly as she could and closed her eyes. "Damn." 

This time, Adam knew something was up, if only by her expletive. "Azure?" 

"Yes?" 

"You okay?" 

She was glad he didn't come in there to check on her himself. It made lying just a little easier. "I'm fine. I just spilled some coffee on my hand. I'll be right in there." 

"Okay." She heard him poking into the fire, and the familiar sounds of the blaze crackling up. He was really good at that, which was why he was doing it. There were few things sweeter than cuddling with your beloved on a chilly winter's night beside a blazing fire. Or any kind of night, for that matter. 

As his coffee steeped a little, she grabbed a bag and took a quick trip to the bathroom, changing into a long gauze nightgown once there. She made her back into the living room and sat next to him, holding the coffee she'd picked up on the way out. "Your coffee." She leaned over and gave him a deep, loving kiss as he took it. "Happy anniversary." 

"Happy anniversary." They kissed longer and more deeply, then he pulled her onto his lap as her hands dived into his shoulder length dark hair, pulling a wanton moan from him. 

She grinned lightly. "Always sensitive about the hair, huh?" He nodded, and she grinned, kissing him just on the hairline. "Like my new nightgown? I bought it just for tonight." 

Adam nodded and she stood up and spun, the gown flowing around her like a living cloud. Azure gracefully fell into his arms and looked up at him with sparkling eyes. "I love you." 

"I love you." Adam moaned softly as she began to caress him in a very intimate area, straddling his lap. She always knew just how to get him in the mood, even if he wasn't in the mood. 

"I have a gift for you." She purred, leaning closer to him as she reached for a box that had been hidden. His hands slid up her back and began to stroke very slowly. She closed her eyes, doing her best not to pass out from pleasure, whispering, "Adam...your gift..." 

"What?" Adam had been in the middle of enjoying an entirely different kind of gift, and he wasn't all that fond of being interrupted. 

"Your gift..." Azure grabbed hold of the box and handed it to him. "Our anniversary." She knew how he could be, and they were going to get back to business quite soon. He opened up the box and smiled at the fresh shirt inside, cut and colored just perfectly to flatter him. "It spoke to me." She claimed, remembering how it had almost seemed to jump at her when she was shopping. "Wear it tomorrow?" 

"Definitely." Adam promised, then fished around in his pocket and pulled out a small box to give to her. "This is for you." 

She squealed in joy at the beautiful necklace he'd bought her and quickly fastened it on. It spelled out her name in crystal and gold, and sparkled in the pale lamplight. It was just perfect. 

After that, they returned to what they'd been doing, celebrating their wedding night all over again. Once it was over, Azure groaned in pleasure and passed out, her eyes glazed and delighted. Adam watched her worriedly for a few moments, then slowly shook her until she began to wake up. "Azure..." _I didn't think we were **that** enthusiastic!!_

She smiled sweetly at him as her eyes opened. "Hi. You wore me out." 

He blushed deeply. That was the last thing he'd expected to hear. "Sorry." 

"It's okay." She leaned into him for a moment, stroking her fingers across his chest. "You know, I don't think going to the picnic with you and Christi is a wise idea for me. You go and get to know her." 

Adam frowned slightly. "Are you sure?" He wasn't all that fond of hanging out with people he didn't know, especially if there was no one that he did know around. 

"Yes." Azure nodded firmly. "I have some writing to do." She waited until he agreed, however reluctantly, and smiled. "I'd like you two to be friends." He nodded and she stood up carefully. "I'm going to head up to bed." 

She glanced down at him, then grinned softly. Perhaps they hadn't had _quite_ enough celebrating of their anniversary yet. There were still a few things that could be done. 

* * *

Much later, with the light of dawn just starting to touch the morning sky, Azure stared at Adam as he slept, seated in the chair beside the bed. _I wish I could tell him what's going on. I wish I **knew** what was going on._ She knew that she should tell him, but the words just didn't want to come. It was rather annoying. 

She glanced at the clock, then back at him. His eyes were just starting to come open. He looked as tired as she felt. Their sexcapades the night before had worn them both out, but a promise was a promise. He definitely felt better than she did, he knew. "You have one hour to get ready." She told him as he started to sit up. "Breakfast is cereal." 

He blinked, clearing his mind, then nodded. "No problem. How are _you_ feeling?" 

"Tired." The word escaped her before she realized what she'd said, but he didn't appear to take any real notice of it beyond just what it meant. 

"Get some sleep." Adam advised, and grinned to realize that she already was. He grabbed a quick shower and dressed, then carefully moved Azure into the bed. _That's a weird bruise on her arm._ He brushed his fingers against it gently. _I hope I didn't hurt her or anything last night._

He would've stayed and checked for more, if he hadn't realized that he was going to be _very_ late if he didn't get moving. _We were rather enthusiastic. She probably just banged it against something hard._ The multiple meanings of that phrase did not escape him as he gathered what he needed and headed out the door. 

Only to run almost directly into his best friend as Billy came up, a small bundle in his arms. "Hey!" Billy grinned at him. "Your niece wanted to visit you." He frowned slightly, noticing just how alone his friend was. "Is Azure okay?" 

"Yeah, just kinda tired. We celebrated our anniversary last night." Adam reminded him. Billy nodded, remembering certain anniversaries of his own. 

"Want to hold her?" He offered the baby over, and Adam expertly held her, cooing down at the small child. He loved babies, and they did seem to like him back. "I'd better get back to Aura. We'll come visit once Azure's feeling better." 

"See you then." Adam waved, then quickly headed out to where the picnic was going to be. By now the sun was risen, and everything looked sparkling clean in the light of morning. Sunrise picnics weren't common, but they weren't unheard of either, so he was glad he hadn't bothered to eat more than a slice of bread. He wanted to have a good appetite. 

* * *

Christi waited patiently, wondering what was taking them so long. _I think Azure said something about their anniversary being yesterday. I hope they're not oversleeping._ She knew just how aroused and active Azure could get when she wanted to be, and with a hunk like Adam around, who _wouldn't_ want to get as much action as possible? 

Which was why she was rather surprised when Adam turned up by himself, carrying his portion of the picnic supplied. "Where's Azure?" was the first question out of her mouth, even before a greeting. But somewhere in the heartbeat before that, she realized something. 

She'd thought of Adam as attractive and hunky before, but it had never really _struck_ her until now just how truly gorgeous he was. It was almost as if he glowed with some kind of special light, something all his own. She almost didn't hear his reply when he made it. 

"She's resting. She's tired and not feeling all that well." 

"Oh. Sorry to hear that." 

Adam settled down on the picnic spread and began to unpack things carefully. Christi eyed him as he did so, licking her lips, feeling a great well of lust rising up in her that she'd never known before. She started to lean closer to him, and was pleased when he did the same thing. Whatever she was feeling, he felt it too. 

The two of them joined together with the kind of wild abandon that only wild animals and certain types of people under the influence of drugs know. It was quite a few hours before they finished, and drifted off into a comfortable snooze together. 

"Adam?" Christi was the first to wake up, and stared at her erstwhile lover in shock. "Adam?" She moved apart quickly, instinctively grabbing for the wipes that she'd brought along to start cleaning herself up with. 

"Hm?" He blinked slowly as he woke up, not quite realizing at first just what had happened. Then it all came crashing in on him, and he felt absolutely sick to his stomach. 

"I have _no_ idea what we just did," Christi murmured, tossing him some wipes so he could get himself tidied up. That was something of a lie; they both knew _what_ they'd done, but not _why_ they'd done it. It went beyond both their experiences. "Let's not tell Azure?" 

Adam didn't even have to think twice about _that_. "Good idea. Let's eat." The picnic was still sitting out there, luckily having been made of the kinds of foods that wouldn't be harmed by sitting untended for too long. A few ants had tried to march off with some crumbs, but those could easily be spared. 

Once they were done, Adam burped slightly. "That was good." 

"Your wife made it." Christi reminded him with a chuckle as she began to clean things up. "Well, I'm off. Bye." 

With a wave and a grin she was out of there. Adam took care of his portion of the trash and headed home, wondering just what it was that had been in the air that morning. _Leftovers from last night?_ He wondered. He doubted it, but you could ever be too certain. Sometimes strange things just happened. 

As he headed for his shower once getting back home, he heard Azure calling out to him from the bedroom. "How was it?" 

Well, if _that_ wasn't a question that could have more than one answer... "Good." That was one way to put it. 

"What happened?" 

He shrugged lightly. "We talked, ate, that kinda thing." There was no need to worry her. This was just a one time little thing, probably an overabundance of hormones, nothing to concern anyone about. 

Azure frowned. There was just something in his eyes that told her he wasn't quite telling her everything. Nothing she could pin down, but he was not being fully honest. "What else?" 

"Nothing else. What's wrong, do you think I'm lying?" He came over to look at her and she pulled him closer into what he thought was going to be a kiss, until she bit his lip. "Hey!!" 

"Sorry." She didn't look too sorry as she leaned back and he settled down beside her, wanting to know just what was wrong. "Nothing." She reassured him. _Something is going on. I don't know what, but something._ She caught sight of a smear on his collar and looked more closely at it. "What's this? Lipstick?" 

Adam glanced at it, looking just as confused as she was feeling. "I have no idea. I didn't see it there earlier." There was honest confusion in his voice, too. 

"Just what happened between you two?" Azure wondered, eyeing him carefully. Adam shook his head. 

"Nothing." 

She looked at him for a moment, then turned her gaze out the window. She felt he was telling the truth, but he was still holding back something. It might just be something innocent, but she wasn't all that sure. And she also wasn't sure just how much she could trust him anymore. 

* * *

"How is our plan going?" Robin stretched herself out in Jameson's chair, enjoying the luxury of it. This was a step up from her life before, and she didn't plan on giving it up any time soon: or at all. 

"Perfectly." The commander smirked at just _how_ perfectly it was all going. If this went just the way he wanted it to, they'd have both Chosen Rangers defeated and out of his hair for good. 

"Good. If not, I would have to go down there myself and set him straight." 

Jameson strolled over to her and ran a hand across her shoulder, gently caressing down her. She undid the top of her dress to permit him greater access, and gasped as he touched her everywhere he possibly could, teasing and taunting her body. "We need a bigger ship." She finally managed to gasp out. 

Her lover looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "We do?" This was the first _he'd_ heard about it. 

"One with a private bridge." She slid her hands over him until they were both at a fever pitch, then grinned at him. "Someplace private, perhaps?" She purred, and he nodded. "Now, do you understand why we need a ship with one of those?" 

Jameson chuckled softly in amusement. "All right. We can pick one out later." Besides, it would be nice to have a place of their own that wasn't this second hand Subcraft. 

"Thank you." The two of them sashayed into their room hand in hand. Robin knew that though he truly was nasty and cruel to those who had crossed him, with _her_ he could be the gentle person he was inside. That was why she had long since made up her mind to stay beside him. 

Jameson patted her shoulders gently. "But no _girly_ colors." He teased her. "If you pick out something in bright pink..." 

"Disgusting!" She rolled her eyes. What kind of a person did he think she was, after all! "I was thinking very clean colors. Whites. Grays. And we decorate as we see fit." 

He nodded in agreement. "Maybe something in a pale blue. But not _too_ pale, mid you." 

"Blood red?" Robin kissed him as she giggled, tugging him onto the bed with her. 

"Maybe some of it." He kissed her deeply and arousingly everywhere possible. "Too much red is bad for you." 

"Emerald green...gothic bedroom..." She gasped out as he began to get hotter and hotter and nearer and nearer to her. The two of them made hot passionate love until they were exhausted, then curled into each other for the post-sex cuddling. 

Jameson did have something to show her, though. _I knew this would come in handy._ He pulled out a catalogue of various bases, fortresses, ships, and other things that were available for sell, ranging from thirdhand or worse to fresh off the factory lot. 

"Ohh, perfect." She paged through it quickly until she spied something that was just her style and pointed it out to him. It had everything they could want, plus a few extras that they'd never thought about before. "Can we get this one?" 

Jameson glanced at it, then nodded. It was well within their price range. "All right." Somehow, he'd never really thought that being an evil overlord would come with shopping for your own base. Not that he was that bothered by it, really. 

"Something is wrong with the Gold Ranger," Robin mused over their latest problem as she leaned into him. She'd been doing a lot of research into this whole new world that she'd found herself in, and she found she fit into it very well. "Why don't we try attacking the defense system of her planet? If we can destroy it...they'll have to evacuate." That would leave them as stragglers and survivors: also known as easy pickings. 

Jameson grinned wickedly. His random choice of sex partner had been better than he realized. "Perfect." The two of them cuddling a little closer, then drifted off to evil dreams. 

* * *

A week had passed since the anniversary and Jameson and Robin's decision. They had been attacking quite frequently, doing everything they could to wear the defenses and the Gold Ranger out. Azure came into her house after another battle, exhausted and drained, but not so tired that she forgot to kiss her daughters when she came in. 

"How are you?" Adam asked quietly, watching as she held onto the counter for a moment, murmuring that she was fine. 

She was able to start dinner, but before everything was in the oven, she looked at him. "I'm going to go lay down." She headed off to the bedroom, but before she could have even gotten to the stairs, Adam heard a soft thunk. He ran in to see her laying on the ground, pale and unconscious, and gently did his best to get her awake again. 

"What happened?" She groaned as her eyes cracked open and he asked his question. She knew what the answer was, and he wasn't going to like it. _I know part of the answer..._

"I passed out." She wasn't going to tell him about the dizziness, not if she could help it. _I'm being stupid._

Adam eyed her carefully. "You don't look so good." He was going to insist that she see a doctor, or something. He was _not_ going to lose her, no matter what. 

Azure shook her head carefully as he helped her to a seat. "I think I'll be fine. I'm just fighting too much, that's all." 

Her husband eyed her again, then shook his head. "Spirit!" In a heartbeat, the filmy embodiment of their world appeared before them. "What's wrong with Azure?" 

The ghost-like woman examined her charge for a moment with all-seeing eyes. "Too much fighting." 

"See!" Azure felt a surge of triumph, that quickly faded as the Spirit continued to speak. 

"And she has cancer." 

There was total silence for a heart wrenching moment. "I have _what_?" Azure stared in shock as the Spirit repeated her words. This couldn't be happening. "What kind?" 

"Stomach cancer." The ghost told them. "It is not as bad as it could be, though it is bad enough. You are so tired and dizzy at times because of the Kalakian blood within you, mixed with the human blood." 

Azure frowned in thought. That could explain things. Then she did a doubletake. "Wait. Did you say _Kalakian_ blood?" The Spirit nodded calmly. "But I don't have any!" 

"You do. Your grandmother is of Kalakan." The Spirit looked almost surprised that she didn't know that. Azure's eyes flashed in anger. Why wasn't she _told_ these things? 

She looked sharply at Adam. "Watch the girls." A quick teleport later, she was in front of her parents on Earth, her eyes blazing in pure fury. "Mom, Dad! Grandma is not human! I have Kalakian blood in me from her, and it's causing some weird side effects with me and the cancer running through my body! Why didn't she tell us?" 

"I don't know." Her mother replied, obviously just as shocked as she was. "She's at her house now...let's go find out." Shock upon shock was registering, first that her mother, and herself by logic, were not fully of Earth, and second, that her daughter had cancer. There didn't quite seem to be enough time for her to assimilate it all. 

Azure nodded briefly and the two of them headed out to the car. _I probably should have just teleported right to her, but I guess I still wanted my mommy._ Azure almost smiled at that, if it hadn't been for how serious things were. She watched the scenery fly by as they drove, and drifted off into a tedium and cancer-caused nap. 

By the time she woke up, they were pulling up just outside her grandmother's country house. She didn't give the older woman time to do anything but open the door as she knocked loudly on it, and glared down at her. "Why didn't you tell us?" Azure asked demandingly. 

"Tell you what?" Grandmother asked with a calm look to her old eyes. Azure felt very imperious as she stared down at her. 

"That you are Kalakian." 

The old woman shrugged. "Oh, that. Well, come on in. I suppose I should tell you everything." 

"So what _else_ haven't you told us?" Her daughter asked as they entered, the door closing behind them. She wasn't feeling quite the same sense of outrage that Azure was, but she was still annoyed. 

Her mother shrugged again, quite casually, as if this happened every day. "Aura is your niece. Neras was your older brother. Your father and I thought that bringing you here was for the best. It was the only way to keep you safe at the time. You were so happy here. So are Azure and Aura. Or they were, once. 

"But you should have told us!" Azure declared. Grandma didn't look that ashamed of what she'd done. 

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to. That you'd never need to know." 

Azure stalked a little closer. "I have cancer, that is not..." She shivered as the room began to dance and spin about her, and she tried her best to get her message across. "The cancer is getting _worse_ due to my Kalakian blood." That was all she managed to say before passing out almost literally into her mother's arms. 

"I've got to take her to the hospital." The older woman declared worriedly, looking at her child's pale and wan face. 

"Is that wise? They might find out she isn't totally human." Grandmother wondered. Of course, they hadn't so far, but Azure had never really been in there for anything like this. 

Her daughter just glared at her. "Do you happen to have any _better_ ideas?" 

"The Spirit of her world." Grandmother knew quite well about the bond between a Chosen Ranger and their world. The Spirit of New Kalakan could do so much more for her than anyone else could. 

The Spirit wasted no time arriving either. "Rest her in my arms. I will take her to the hospital on New Kalakan. Do you wish to come with me?" They both nodded, and in a flicker, they were all there. 

The two older women paced back and forth nervously for some time in the waiting room there, until the doctor that had taken Azure came out. "She's resting." He reported. "I'm going to admit her for a while, she needs rest and to undergo treatment to see if we can get the cancer into remission." 

The Spirit nodded slowly; she had waited just as much as the other two had. "This is not a good time for this to happen. I must choose an Avatar for her. Someone to hold her power when she cannot, and when she can, that person will have their own lesser powers. A sort of partner and aide. I believe Adam will do for now. If he agrees." 

As the Spirit faded away, the doctor turned to the two older women. "You can go see her if you like. She is awake." 

Jessica Robinson nodded briefly and headed in to the indicated room. Azure looked up as she came in and smiled softly. "Where is the Spirit?" She asked as soon as her mom was in there. 

"She went to talk to Adam, I believe." Jessica told her. Azure nodded, frowning slightly in concern. 

"About me?" 

"I think so." 

Azure sighed; the last thing she wanted was to be a bother of any kind. She carefully struggled to sit up, breaking out into a cold sweat as she did so. Such a simple exercise, and she had such trouble with it. 

"How are you feeling?" The standard question of anyone who was in a hospital. She had the feeling she was going to hear it a lot more before it finally was silenced. 

"Tired." She did her best to get out of the bed, and caught a warning look from her mother. "I gotta use the bathroom!" Moms beings moms, she quickly got the help she needed, and was soon back in the bed, sitting on the edge as Adam came running in. 

"You should be in bed." Was the first thing out of his mouth after the obligatory greeting. Azure rolled her eyes. 

"I _am_." She indicated the fact she was seated on the bed and he shook his head. 

"_Flat_ in bed." He was going to be being _that_ way about things. Annoying. 

"I had to use the bathroom." She carefully got herself laying down in bed and then noticed something around his neck. "Adam? What's that?" 

He glanced down at the duplicate of her necklace and touched it lightly. "The Spirit gave it to me. I'm going to be filling in for you while you're sick." 

"Oh." She really wasn't certain of how to take that at the moment. She let herself drift for a while, not really thinking about anything. There wasn't anything she could _do_ about it anyway. Then something occurred to her. "Who is with the girls?" 

"Don't worry." He smiled reassuringly at her. "I got a baby-sitter for them." She couldn't possibly think that he would leave them unattended! 

"Oh." She supposed she should have expected that. "Why don't you go home with them? There's not much you can do for me tonight." She squeezed his hand a little, then looked over at her mom and grandma. "I think you two might want to talk to Aura. And Grandma...don't keep secrets like that from us anymore? Okay?" 

Grandma peeked in over her daughter's shoulder and smiled. "Okay." There weren't anymore she knew of that she was keeping anyway. 

As Azure fell asleep, Adam went back home, still worried about his wife. _Cancer. New Kalakian medicine is good, but is it **that** good?_ He didn't know, and the thought was terrifying. 

"Daddy?" It was Katia. He paused by the girls' bedroom and looked in. His older daughter was awake, her sister asleep in her own bed. "Where is Mommy?" 

Adam smiled a bit weakly. "She's in the hospital for a while. Resting." 

"Why?" 

"She's not feeling well." Adam had no real idea on how to explain this kind of thing to her. 

"Why?" 

It looked as if he might have to anyway, though. "She's got a disease." He explained stomach cancer the best that he could to her, and she nodded slowly, though he didn't think she really understood. "Come on, baby, time for bed." He tucked her in carefully and she blinked at him. 

"I miss Mommy. She reads the _best_ stories." 

Adam blinked a little, glancing over at the piles of books by the beds. "I'll read you a story." Anything for his girls. 

Katia giggled. "No offense, but you're not good at telling stories." Daddy could do a lot of things, but this wasn't one of them. 

"Sorry." Adam grinned at her briefly and Katia giggled. 

"It's okay. Not everyone is. Anyway, Jeni is the one who _really_ likes them. And she's asleep." Katia curled up the best she could and was asleep in moments herself. 

Adam quietly closed the door behind him and crossed over to the living room, where his baby-sitter and father in law was fast asleep on the couch. He'd barely stepped into the room before Frank Robinson woke, however. "How is Azure?" 

"Resting right now. I'm going back to see her tomorrow." Adam told him. Frank nodded acceptingly. 

"I'll watch the girls. You go get some sleep." He didn't mind taking care of his grandchildren at all. Besides, how often would he get a chance to go off-planet. 

"You too." Adam told him, then headed on up to bed. It was going to be a lonely night. 

* * *

Billy hummed as he read over a term paper and graded it carefully. He heard the door open and shut, and knew there was only one person who that could be. "You look so cute doing that." Aura told him as she watched. He patted the couch, wanting her to sit beside him, but didn't look up from the paper just yet. 

"My dad called earlier." Aura told him. He could hear something odd in her voice as she said it. That was already putting him on alert. Aura _never_ reacted like that to just anything. 

"What did he want?" 

"Azure's sick." 

"From the tone in your voice, it's not a cold." Billy put the paper down and turned to look at her. Aura shook her head quietly, fighting back the tears from her winter-gray eyes. 

"She's got cancer." 

As she told him all that her dad had told her, he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly, feeling her shiver a little beneath him. "We'll go see her tomorrow, first thing. I'll call off. We can wait until morning to tell the kids, though." She nodded and leaned into him even more. She could face this on her own, if she had to, he knew. He was going to make sure she didn't have to. "Was that all she said, that he had cancer?" 

Aura shook her head, remembering the rest of the conversation. _That_ had been something amazing. As she told him what had happened, Billy blinked in surprise. "Your sister is your cousin?" 

"I'm trying not to think about it too hard." 

He chuckled softly. "Your family tree is confusing." She grinned faintly at him. 

"Try living it instead of just hearing about it." 

Billy tweaked her nose gently. "I am, remember? I married _you_." He kissed her lightly. "But how does it make you feel?" 

"Confused." 

He grinned. "Glad I'm not the only one. She'll be fine, Aura. You can go visit her now, you know. Visiting hours won't end for another three hours." 

The bright smile that lit her face was all the reward he needed for that, though the two kisses she bestowed before leaving didn't hurt at all. He loved having such an affectionate person in his life. 

Aura hurried for New Kalakan and the hospital as swiftly as she could, and quite soon was settled in the chair beside her. Azure's eyes fluttered a little, and then opened, focusing on her. "What are you doing here?" She asked her elder sister...cousin...whatever. 

"Came to see you." Aura replied. That was a no-brainer. 

Azure smiled a bit as Aura got as comfortable as she could. "They told you?" Aura nodded and Azure sighed a bit. "I didn't even know today. It's...so weird. So many blows in one day. First the cancer, then that I'm actually your cousin, not to mention the fighting has been too much here, recently. And now Adam is holding onto my powers until I get well. It's just too much." 

Aura patted her hand lightly. "You need to adjust, that's all. You'll make it. I know you will." She tucked her sister in a bit better and watched as Azure slowly cried herself to sleep, doing what comforting she could for that. _I wish there was something I could do. Anything._ Healing had never been something she was good at, though. Especially things like this. 

It was far too soon, though almost late by hospital hours, when a nurse came in and told her it was time to leave. "I'll come back tomorrow," Aura whispered to her sleeping sister, then headed out. 

Behind her, the nurse pulled a hypodermic needle out of her pocket and carefully slid it's contents into Azure, making certain that no one saw her. Once it was done, she quietly left. As soon as she was out of sight, a ripple of energy flickered over her, and Robin teleported back to the new ship, just recently delivered. "It's done. She'll be in a coma by morning, and will see _everything_ her husband does." 

Jameson grinned at her from the new featherbed. "Perfect." This would definitely ruin everything that those stupid Rangers had tried to accomplish. He tugged Robin over to him and kissed her lightly. 

"I like this ship." She murmured, leaning into him as he agreed quietly. It was everything she'd ever wanted. She sneezed briefly, then frowned. "I think I might be sick...either that, or allergies. I don't know to what, though." 

Jameson shrugged, tugging her even closer. "Don't worry about it. It's not important. I can whip you up a cure later." He nibbled her ear lightly, and soon the two of them were once more in dark slumber. 

* * *

Azure was lightly asleep the next morning when Adam came into the room. She smiled at him as she sat up quite carefully. "Hi. I'm feeling a little stronger. Which they say will change. I start my treatments today." She shuddered at the thought. "I will be sick a _lot_." She picked a bit at the blanket covering her. "If you don't visit me that much, I'll understand." 

Adam just smiled at her as he sat down. "I'll come as often as I can." He loved her, and he wasn't going to avoid her just because she was sick. 

She leaned back into the pillows. "Can you bring me some stuff from home?" 

"Sure. What do you want?" 

"Nightgowns and slippers. My robe." She though over a few other things that could come in handy, and that she wanted to do or have done. "We might want to tell your parents. They may want to watch the girls once in a while. Also, if things get too bad, I want them on Earth, okay?" Earth had a lot longer history of battle resistance than New Kalakan did, and she wasn't going to take any chances. She leaned back, rubbing her temples lightly. "Shouldn't you be at work?" She wasn't upset; but she didn't want to risk him losing his job because of her. 

"I got the day off." Adam told her. Azure was surprised; that wasn't really like his boss. 

"You didn't have to. I'm sure Aura would've come back." The hard part would have been keeping her from doing so. 

"She came?" 

Azure nodded. "Last night. I slept through most of it. She came in while I was asleep." She took his hand gently and stroked it the best she could with various IVs in her. "So, what are your plans for today?" 

"Staying with you while I can." He told her. Azure shook her head at once. 

"Not all day." She wasn't going to condemn anyone to sitting beside her for so long, especially with how often she tended to fall asleep now. "Who is with the girls." 

"Your dad." Adam responded at once. "He wants to take care of him as much as he can while this is happening." 

Azure nodded slowly, then looked at him out of the corner of one eye. "So...this is awkward." 

"I know." Adam smiled a touch. "I always have trouble talking to someone in a hospital. It's weird." 

"You'd think that we would've gotten used to it with me!" Azure chuckled, and Adam grinned a little. Her good humor didn't last long, however. "I hate this! I hate you not knowing how to talk to me about this, and I hate myself for the same reason!" 

Adam sighed; he wasn't too thrilled at this himself. "Maybe if we knew more _about_ it. I can do some research." 

"Or we could ask the doctor?" Azure suggested, then thought again. "Then again, Earth libraries would have more information, and you could stop by Christi's and let her know that I won't be around much for a while. Your choice." 

Adam thought for a moment, then nodded. "I'll check the Earth libraries soon. I'm more familiar with them, anyway." 

Azure nodded, leaning back into her pillows as her eyes drifted shut. Odd and disturbing visions of Jameson wandered through her head as she began to doze off. Adam watched her for a few moments, then kissed her lightly on the lips, and slipped away. 

* * *

Christi's eyes lit up as she saw Adam coming towards her, and she squirmed a little in her porch chair. Every time he'd come over for a visit in the past week, she'd gotten more aroused, and more sex, than she could remember having in the rest of her life. As he drew closer, she saw him shivering a little as he looked at her. 

"Something wrong?" She asked, coming over to give him a hug. She wasn't really expecting anything bad; what could happen when life was so perfect? 

"Azure's got cancer." He said calmly and sadly, then filled her in on what else had been happening since the last time they'd seen each other. 

"How sad." She licked his neck lightly as she started to stroke on him. It wasn't so bad, wanting him to forget his problems, at least for a little while, was it? Of course not. "How is she doing?" 

Adam let her lead him inside and close the door behind the two of them. "It's hard to say. They haven't had a chance to do much testing yet." 

After that, as they both got naked and in bed, they didn't really think that much about Azure or what might be happening to her. 

* * *

"Sir!" Robin stared down at Earth through the viewscreen, then looked over at Jameson in concern. "Did you give me the right bottle? She's not in a coma!" 

Jameson frowned darkly. His potions _never_ failed. Ever. "Let me see the bottle I gave you." She tossed it over and he read the label carefully, then sniffed the scent. 

"What is it?" 

"Dominus." He murmured the name of it quietly. It was a good potion, it just wasn't what he'd wanted to use. He must not have been paying proper attention when he had given it to Robin. 

His consort considered briefly. "That makes someone your slave." He nodded in agreement, and she smirked. "This is even better! She becomes your slave, and destroys the Rangers, _and_ New Kalakan and Earth! Her sister won't fight her!" 

They both cackled a bit over that, and Robin grinned darkly. "And you can have her way with her too. Shall I go and give her your instructions? Hurry up and get well?" 

Jameson thought for a moment, then pulled out a potion from his supply, checking to make certain it was the one that he wanted. "Give this one to her. It'll make certain the treatments she gets work better and increase her chances of survival a _great_ deal." 

Robin nodded, then chuckled. "Just thought something very interesting. We tell them the truth on what this does? Amber Ranger will owe you a _big_ one for saving her sister! You'll have something on her that no one else ever has!" 

The dark overlord smirked in agreement, giving his permission, then leaned back as Robin vanished. Things were not quite working out as he'd planned: they were even better. 

* * *

"Hello, Amber Ranger." Aura's head snapped up at that, and she saw a strange woman standing there with a bottle of something in her hand. "This will help your sister." 

Aura's eyes narrowed at once. She didn't trust just anyone off the streets. "Who are you and why do you want to help her?" 

"Who I am is not important. Just this is important. Your sister is more important alive than dead. May I?" 

There wasn't really much Aura could say to that. She loved her sister, and there was very little she wouldn't do to help her. "All right." She watched as the stranger injected whatever was in there in Azure, and hoped that she was making the right choice. "At least let me know your name." 

"Robin." The other woman said with a faint smirk. "I serve Jameson." 

Aura's eyes flashed as Robin vanished, and she stared over at her sister in shock. _What the **hell** was I thinking? If that was poison...I'm going to kill them both with my bare hands!!_

She was even more shocked, however, when she saw color returning to Azure's cheeks, and her eyes opened a few moments later. Aura could scarcely believe her eyes. "Feeling better?" The Amber Ranger asked quietly. 

"Yes." Azure blinked; she felt _very_ much better. Her mind was clear and there wasn't any pain at all. It was like a miracle! "When did you come?" 

Aura smiled a little. "A little while ago." She wasn't really inclined to believe that whatever this Robin had done, it was totally out of good will or anything like that. No, there'd be a price. She just hoped it wasn't too much to pay. 

"Where is Adam?" Azure wondered, glancing around curiously. It wasn't like him to spend more time than he had to away from her. Aura shrugged a bit. 

"I don't know, I haven't seen him this morning. He'll probably come by later." That was an understatement. There was no way in hell he'd miss seeing Azure for at least a little while every day. 

Azure nodded and yawned, feeling tired. With her sister to guard her sleep, she felt no fear about drifting off again. She probably would have even if she'd been alone, that's how tired she was. 

Aura looked up a few moments later as Adam came in, his shirt untucked and looking a bit frowzy. As he came over to Azure, she couldn't help but smile. The signs of good health returning were unmistakable. "She's going to be okay." 

Adam nodded as he sat and took her hand. "Who was that in here with you a couple of minutes ago?" He'd heard voices, but one of them clearly hadn't been Azure's or Aura's. 

"I'm not really sure." Aura told him what had happened and he swore briefly. 

"He had _better_ not think _any_ of us owes him _anything_!" 

Aura shrugged lightly. "He will. I know how they think." She'd been controlled by evil enough times to know, and knew that Tommy would agree with her. 

Adam growled softly, "We don't owe him a thing!" He wouldn't let this bastard get away with this! The healing he was grateful for, but not if Jameson was going to try and wrench things out of them! That was just another form of hostage taking! He glanced at Aura for a moment. "Can you leave us alone?" 

He waited until the door had closed behind her, then sighed, staring down at Azure. "I screwed up. I've been doing that a lot." He wanted to come clean, but it was rather sad the only time he could do it was when his wife was virtually on her deathbed. 

"Adam?" Azure's eyes were partially open. "What did you do? How did you screw up?" 

He shook his head quickly. This wasn't what he'd had in mind. Not at _all_. "I'd rather not say." 

"Please..." She looked at him, wondering if this had anything to do with the picnic with Christi. "Why did you tell me that you screwed up if you won't tell me _how_ you screwed up?" 

He held out a hand placatingly to her. "Azure..." 

"Don't you 'Azure' me! If you won't tell me, then you can just leave!" 

Adam sighed. "Azure, it's nothing I can just say. It has to be the right time." And now most definitely wasn't it. 

"Right time." She looked firmly at him. "Are you having an affair?" 

"No!" He shook his head violently. He wasn't entirely certain what to call what was going on other than 'fucking weird'. In every way that could be taken. "I love you!" 

They both looked up as the doctor came over to her, and Azure sighed a bit. "Here for more tests?" 

"That's right." He did things she had no names for, but that was mainly because she wasn't a doctor herself. "The results won't be in for a couple of days." He told her. "But I'll tell you as soon as I can." 

They exchanged a couple of pleasantries, and the doctor left to do whatever doctors did when they weren't testing patients in weird ways. Azure looked to where Adam was watching her quietly. "Please?" 

"Not yet." He sighed. "But I will. I will tell you, I promise. I just don't know when yet." 

She eyed him untrustingly. "Do you have a time frame?" He shook his head and she looked away. "When you do, let me know." She wasn't overly fond of secrets right now, especially not ones that he was keeping from her. She stared out the window for a few moments, feeling his presence behind her. "Why don't you just go home?" 

"Because I want to be here with you!" He said it as if there was nothing else he could do. She wasn't that interested, however. 

"Just go!" 

He left. 

* * *

Two weeks had passed. Azure was feeling far better than she'd ever expected to feel this soon. The cancer was in remission, and she felt healthier and livelier than she could ever remember feeling before. _I'm going to surprise Adam._ She grinned to herself as she crept into her parents-in-laws house. Adam had told her he was going to house-sit for them, since no one was expecting her out for at least another week, and they were taking their grandkids to Disneyland. 

She could hear some noises coming from upstairs, so it was there she went, expecting to find him showering or something like that. "Something like that" was not quite how it could be described. 

He and Christi, both naked, Christi's hands tied to the headboard, while Adam ravished her deliciously, both obviously quite willing from the way they were moaning each other's names. 

A startled gasp gave her away, and the three of them stared at each other in obvious shock and startlement. Azure wanted to run, but she couldn't bring herself to move, no matter what. Adam called her name a few times, but until he started over to her, she couldn't move. 

She slapped him as hard as he could as he reached for her, fury etched in her every move. "Don't bother coming back. I'll be by to get the kids when your parents come home." 

"Azure, we have to explain!" Adam burst out. Azure shook her head swiftly. 

"No, you don't! You were in bed screwing my _former_ friend. What is there to explain? You told me you weren't having an affair! You lied to me!" 

Adam stumbled over himself trying to speak, and Azure changed her mind. "You know what, explain. Explain away." She crossed her arms. "What possible reason could you have for screwing her?" 

"I don't know!" He finally burst out. "That's what's so weird!" 

"Try me." She said with a scoffing laugh. Adam stared at her helplessly. 

"No, I'm serious. Whenever Christi and I aren't around each other, I just think of her as a friend. If I think about her at all. But when we get together..." He shook his head, and she started out. "I know you don't believe me. But that's why I couldn't tell you before. I was hoping to find an answer for it before I said anything." 

She glared at him in fury. "Did you have to keep doing it? Couldn't you ask Zordon or the Spirit?" 

"Do you have to keep yelling?" 

"Yes!" She screeched. "I am pissed off! I yell when I am pissed off!" 

He sighed. "If you must know, I did ask them. They're still looking into what's going on. Christi came by without telling me she was coming earlier, and it happened again." 

"Until they find out what's going on, don't bother coming to see me." Azure said flatly. She hardly waited for his acknowledgment before sweeping out of the house. 

All was silent for a few moments, then he felt Christi standing behind him, having worked herself free. "Zordon? Spirit?" 

"Friends." He said sadly. "I can't tell you anymore, not without asking them." He was doing his best not to touch her or look at her. He didn't think he could control himself." 

Christi couldn't control herself at all. She laid a hand on his shoulder, and the two of them wound up in a tight liplock. As they moved apart, she asked, "Let me talk to Azure?" 

"I don't think she wants to talk right now." 

The woman nodded understandingly. "Do _you_ want to talk? Or do you want to do something else?" 

Adam sighed. "Let's give it some time." He wasn't entirely certain of what she was asking, or what his answer meant, and he didn't really care right now either. Christi nodded quietly. 

"I'll go." She was gone in only a few moments, and he sighed. What a rotten day. 

**The End**


End file.
